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Anthony Atala Highlight
Nothing I ever planned in my life turned out the way that I thought it would…just went in totally different directions at every single step.
About Anthony
- Was originally inspired to go into medicine by his childhood physician, one of the few who still made house calls.
- Debated going into medicine, didn't know if he wanted to put so much time, schooling into it.
- Realized that it was his passion, and he was willing to dedicate the time required to become a doctor.
- Planned on doing primary care in a small community, like his childhood doctor had.
- As he did surgeries, he was constantly "devastated" by the fact that the tissues he was transplanting into his patients weren't ideal.
- Knew that there was a better way to find tissue and organ matches for his patients.
- Created the world's first tissue-engineered organ in 1997, started a lab regenerating new tissues and organs from patients' own cells.
- Likens life to his research: "Many times you go through 100 experiments before one works."
