Testimonials

The mission of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine is to improve patients’ lives through regenerative medicine.

We believe that collaboration is key to accelerate both scientific discovery and the clinical translation of therapies to patients in need.

We would welcome the chance to collaborate with Cuba.

Opportunities to work together could include:

1. Academic Partnerships. With the goal of sharing novel technologies, we have ongoing projects with a host of premier institutions and researchers around the world and welcome new alliances.
2. Clinical Trials The need for new therapies is worldwide.Through collaborative clinical studies, hospitals are able to offer their patients access to new treatments before they are widely available.
3. Summer Scholars Program. Open to college undergraduates and medical students through an application process, this 10-week program offers students the opportunity to conduct an individually tailored research project and to learn what a career in biotechnology involves.
4. Regenerative Medicine Essentials Course. This annual event provides a foundation in regenerative medicine. Faculty members address the science of regenerative medicine as well as regulatory and manufacturing challenges. It is especially recommended for new scientists in the field.
5. Workforce Development. When there is a need to expand the scientific workforce, we can suggest newly minted scientists from Wake Forest graduate programs such as the School of Biomedical Engineering’s doctoral program and the Cell and Tissue Engineering Track’s master’s and doctoral programs. All students have worked under our institute’s faculty and are experienced researchers.

Thanks again for the wonderful experience in Cuba. As far as possible collaborations with Cuba, I do not know what the U.S. government will allow; however, below is a short list.

• Development of a roadmap for the further advancement of cell-based therapies in Cuba.
• The training of the workforce required in the area of cell-based therapies by Cuba in the future.

The Stem Cell meeting organized by Dr Cubas has been a fine example of how international research starts with human interactions. Derived in part from shared knowledge of regenerative medicine literature and in part from shared goal of alleviating human suffering anywhere, the meeting of Cuban and American clinician-researchers offered a blueprint for future interactions. The most immediate will be continued communication on tasks and opinions on individual case histories and treatment options. Next, these interactions should be conceptualized into clinical trials (starting with autologous cells) run simultaneously in Cuba and the US. Lastly, there should be a yearly touch down meeting that will reconnect the investigators, re-align the options and needs, and re-energize the whole enterprise with so essential a mission.

Thanks, Ricardo, for putting together a most memorable and professional conference on stem cells and regenerative medicine.
This Inter-America Conference represents a pioneering and pivotal event to bring about substantive interactions that, given the proper support and followup, should lead to productive collaboration between the stem cell and regenerative medicine communities of the U.S.A. and Cuba.
To bring about this development, a number of actions are needed. First, we need to continue the dialogue – both sides must be informed of the priorities and activities of the other. Second, we must focus on the needs of the patient. Informed and regulated translation of the exciting technologies of regenerative medicine must take place, with all partners bringing to the table the necessary knowledge and technologies that will enable realization of the potential of regenerative therapies. Third, I suggest forming an official task force to begin to explore the establishment of official partnership of select Cuban regenerative physicians with U.S. institutions that have the academic history and research excellence in stem cell and regenerative medicine. One of the first actions of such partnership should be the sponsorship of short- or long-term “traveling fellowships” that will allow first-hand understanding and exposure, which may be done in an exchange manner. The traveling fellows should ideally consist of both young and established individuals, the former to initiate new scientific processes, while the latter will be able to bring about changes more effectively.

Having witnessed at the Conference the intensity and the desire for stem cells and regenerative medicine in Cuba, I am motivated to be involved in initiating academic collaborations between the respective stem cell and regenerative medicine colleagues in Cuba and the U.S. In addition, as I am also involved in leadership roles in stem cell and regenerative medicine research and translation programs in Hong Kong, I also see opportunity to cultivate professional relationship between Cuba and that part of the world, and would be very happy to facilitate building this relationship.

In short, the recent opening of the relationship between Cuba and the U.S. offers an incredibly exciting opportunity to connect the science and the practice of stem cells and regenerative medicine. New ideas, new paradigms, new relationships, and new programs will take plae, and will herald in a most exciting spring in the world of science and medicine. It’s time to get it started and get it done right, and to improve the health of the people! I welcome this opportunity with the highest level of enthusiasm!

Working with the conference services at Regenestem was truly a pleasure. After working with other entities around the U.S. it was refreshing to work with such dedicated, meticulous, and professional individuals. People to People looks forward to holding our summit there again next year

It was a wonderful experience and I wish to express my sincere thanks to you and your co-workers for your tremendous input into making this meeting the success that it surely was. It was the unanimous conclusion of all the attendees that we spoke to, that this was the best World Conference to date, and that it will be a very difficult act to follow. We can recommend Regenestem as outstanding conference organizers without reservation.

The speakers were excellent, as were their topics. The flow of the meeting allowed sufficient breaks for networking, and the Regenestem staff were absolutely exceptional.
I particularly liked the amount of opportunities for networking and meeting new people, and the presentations were of both high quality and relevance.