Home > About us > Faculty > James J. Yoo  James J. Yoo, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor Dr. Yoo is a surgeon and researcher. He is currently a faculty   member at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine and is cross-appointed to the Department of   Urology, Physiology and Pharmacology, and Biomedical Engineering. Dr. Yoo received his Bachelor’s Degree in   biology from the University of Illinois in 1983. SYNOPSIS OF AREA OF INTEREST  Clinical translation of tissue engineering and cell-based therapies DETAILED AREA OF INTEREST  Dr. Yoo's research efforts have been directed toward the clinical translation of tissue engineering technologies and   cell-based therapies by developing new therapeutic modalities for the functional repair and replacement of diseased   tissues and organs. A tissue engineering approach involves the use of bio-matrices alone, wherein the body's   natural ability to regenerate is used to orient and direct new tissue growth, or the use of matrices with cells. Recent   advancement of stem cell technologies has further expanded the applications of tissue engineering and cell-based   therapies. Dr. Yoo's background in cell biology and medicine has facilitated the transfer of numerous cell-based   technologies from the bench-top to the bedside. He has been involved in the engineering of applicable tissues and   organs, including the blood vessels, heart valves, kidney, cartilage, bone, muscle, bladder and urethra for clinical   translation. His extensive experience in cell culture, biomaterials design, surgical techniques and animal handling   has contributed to achieving functional tissues and organs for successful pre-clinical and clinical studies. PUBLICATIONS  Oberpenning, F., Meng, J., Yoo, J.J., and Atala, A. (1999) De novo reconstitution of a functional mammalian urinary   bladder by tissue engineering. Nature Biotechnology 17: 149-155.  Lanza, R.P., Chung, H., Yoo, J.J., Wettstein P.J., Blackwell C., Borson N., Hofmeister E., Schuch G., Soker, S.,   Moraes, C.T., West, M.D., and Atala, A. (2002) Generation of histocompatible tissues using nuclear transplantation.   Nature Biotechnology 20:689-696.  El-Kassaby AW, Retik AB, Yoo JJ, Atala A. (2003) Urethral stricture repair with an "off the shelf" collagen matrix. J   Urol, 169: 170-173.  Bartsch G, Jr, Yoo JJ, De Coppi P, Siddiqui MM, Schuch G, Pohl HG, Fuhr J, Perin L, Soker S, Atala A. (2005)   Propagation, expansion, and multilineage differentiation of human somatic stem cells from dermal progenitors.   Stem Cells Dev 14: 337-48.  Stitzel J, Liu J, Lee SJ, Komura M, Berry J, Soker S, Lim G, Van Dyke M, Czerw R, Yoo JJ, Atala A. (2006) Controlled   fabrication of a biological vascular substitute. Biomaterials 27(7):1088-94.