Principal investigator and founder of the Regenerative Biology Research Group located at the National Cancer Institute. Responsible for a group of extramurally-funded researchers engaged in adult stem cell and bio-materials research to address fundamental challenges in regenerative medicine and advance solutions that will serve the needs of those suffering from trauma and diseases which result in loss of tissue function. Luis Alvarez serves as the Deputy Director of the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine
(AFIRM) at the United States Army Medical Research and Materiel Command. In this capacity he
oversees the DoD’s largest portfolio of regenerative medical projects including over 200 basic research
efforts and 20 human clinical trials. Among these efforts are the DoD’s hand and face transplant program
which led to the first double arm transplantation for a wounded Servicemember. Luis is the founding
Principal Investigator of the Regenerative Biology Research Group at the National Cancer Institute. His
group focuses on stem-cell based tissue engineering approaches to address loss of function resulting
from combat trauma and disease. Previously Luis led the DoD’s $720M Bioscavenger program at the
Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense (JPEO-CBD). Luis earned his Ph.D.
in Biological Engineering at MIT as a Hertz Foundation Fellow.
EVENTS & ACTIVITIES (Speaking, Spoken, and Authored)