Atala was born in Peru and raised in Coral Gables, Florida. Atala attended the University of Miami, and he has an undergraduate degree in psychology. He attended medical school at the University of Louisville, where he also completed his residency in urology. He was a fellow at the Harvard Medical School–affiliated Boston Children's Hospital from 1990 to 1992, where he trained under world-renowned pediatric urologic surgeons Alan Retik and Hardy Hendren. He served as the director of the Laboratory for Tissue Engineering and Cellular Therapeutics at Boston Children's Hospital. His work there involved growing human tissues and organs to replace those damaged by disease or defect. This work became important due to shortages in the organ-donor program. Atala continued his work in tissue engineering and printable organs after moving to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and the Wake Forest School of Medicine in 2004. Atala led the team that developed the first lab-grown organ to be implanted into a human. Along with Harvard University researchers, and as described in the journal Nature Biotechnology, Atala has announced that stem cells with enormous potential can be harvested from the amniotic fluid of pregnant women. These amniotic stem cells are pluripotent, meaning they can be manipulated to differentiate into various types of mature cells that make up nerve, muscle, bone, and other tissues, while avoiding the problem of tumor formation and the ethical concerns associated with embryonic stem cells. With respect to the amniotic fluid stem cells, Atala has said the following: Atala's work was seized on by opponents of the Embryonic Stem Cell Research Bill as a more moral alternative. He wrote a letter saying, inter alia, "Some may be interpreting my research as a substitute for the need to pursue other forms of regenerative medicine therapies, such as those involving embryonic stem cells. I disagree with that assertion." Atala has been widely recognized for his scientific contributions. His faculty website lists awards and citations including:
The Christopher Columbus Foundation Award, bestowed on a living American who is currently working on a discovery that will significantly affect society.
The World Technology Award in Health and Medicine, presented to individuals achieving significant, lasting progress.
The Samuel D. Gross Prize, awarded every five years to a national leading surgical researcher by the Philadelphia Academy of Surgery.
The Rocovich Gold Medal, awarded to a distinguished scientist who has made a major impact on science
The 2013 Edison Science/Medical Award
The 2016 Smithsonian Ingenuity Award
The R&D 2016 Innovator of the Year Award for his work with bioprinting
In 2011, he was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. He was named by Scientific American as a Medical Treatments Leader of the Year for his contributions to the fields of cell, tissue, and organ regeneration. Dr. Atala's work was listed as one of Time Magazine's top ten medical breakthroughs of the year, and as Discover Magazine's top science story of the year in the field of medicine in 2007. He serves on the editorial board of the scientific journalRejuvenation Research and on the national board of advisors for High Point University.
