Dr. Alan J. Russell, Ph.D. is a Distinguished University Professor of Surgery and the Founding Director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. Further, he holds positions as Professor in the departments of Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering and Rehabilitation Science and Technology. In addition to his appointments at the University, Dr. Russell is the Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Initiative, as well as a consultant for UPMC’s International and Commercial Services Division. He has founded three biotechnology companies; ICX Agentase LLC, NanoSembly LLC, and O2Cyte LLC. For the last 15 years, Dr. Russell’s work has impacted fields as diverse as chemical and polymer synthesis to tissue engineering and homeland defense. In a series of discoveries Dr. Russell’s laboratory has found how to meld the synthetic and biological worlds. Dr. Russell has given more than 250 national and international invited lecture and holds 14 patents, with 23 additional pending patents.