Building and rebuilding complex tissues: strategic visions from a research-led workshop

Area of Science:

• Developmental Biology
• Regenerative Medicine
• Tissue Engineering

Background:

• Tissue development and regeneration are crucial biological processes.
• Recent advances allow quantitative understanding, potentially transforming the field.
• Comparative studies across different organisms are needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify key questions for community-level research on tissue regeneration.
• To foster collaboration comparing regenerative and non-regenerative contexts.
• To address challenges in large-scale, interdisciplinary regeneration studies.

Main Methods:

• Organized a focused workshop on tissue regeneration and wound healing.
• Identified outstanding questions regarding regenerative competence.
• Discussed cellular, molecular, and physical drivers of regeneration.

Main Results:

• Highlighted the need for cross-comparisons in regenerative competence.
• Identified key research questions for the field.
• Recognized significant logistical and financial challenges for long-term studies.

Conclusions:

• Community-level, long-term studies are essential for advancing tissue regeneration research.
• Addressing challenges is critical for interdisciplinary collaboration, especially with non-model organisms.
• Further research is needed to compare regeneration across diverse biological systems.