Robert Lanza, M.D. is currently Head of Astellas Global Regenerative Medicine, Chief Scientific Officer of AIRM and an adjunct professor at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Time magazine recognized him as one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World,” and Prospect magazine named him one of the Top 50 “World Thinkers.” His research focuses on stem cells and their potential to provide therapies for some of the world's most deadly and debilitating conditions. He has hundreds of scientific publications and over 30 books, including definitive references in the fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. He is a former Fulbright Scholar, and studied with polio-pioneer Jonas Salk and Nobel laureates Gerald Edelman and Rodney Porter. He also worked closely (and co-authored a series of papers) with psychologist BF Skinner and heart transplant-pioneer Christiaan Barnard. Dr. Lanza received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was both a University Scholar and Benjamin Franklin Scholar. Lanza was part of the team that cloned the world’s first human embryo, the first endangered species, and published the first-ever reports of pluripotent stem cell use in humans.