20.109(S08):Essay

Tissue engineering has been a hot topic for over two decades now. In this time, only a few regenerative products have attained commercial and clinical relevance. Write an essay describing what you believe are the key achievements and limitations of the tissue engineering field, and how some of these limitations might be overcome. This is a broad topic for a short essay, so you will want to narrow your focus early on! One possible frame for your essay is to address the linked editorial, published in Tissue Engineering in 2005. In it, Professor Alan Russell argues that standardization of assays in the research and development stage will quicken the clinical translation of regenerative therapies.

If you agree with Prof. Russell, be sure to address the concerns he names, including “An oft-cited criticism of standards is that they are a disincentive to creative problem solving and scientific inquiry.” If you disagree with Prof. Russell, be sure to make specific arguments against standards, and explain why the status quo (or a different solution to the problems the field faces) is preferable.

You may look for and respond to a different editorial if you wish, but please run it by me first. For example, I’m open to reading essays about the pros and cons of FDA regulation, the implications of cutting-edge drug delivery for medical privacy, or whatever topics may interest you. However, the topic you choose should be amenable to a making an argument in favour of or against a concrete position, and the scope should be narrow enough for a short essay.