Alan Russell (Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry, 1987, Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London) 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, Inc., 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, and was also the Founding President of the 3,000-member Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society.
For the last 15 years, the Russell laboratory has been discovering what can be achieved by exploiting the rich interface of chemistry, biology, and materials. Dr. Russell's work has impacted fields as diverse as chemical and polymer synthesis to tissue engineering and homeland defense. Dr. Russell has pioneered how to make polymers from enzymes and how to incorporate enzymes into bulk polymers. In a series of discoveries, Dr. Russell's laboratory has found how to meld the synthetic and biological worlds.