This Research Topic celebrates the 50th anniversary of the first heart transplant performed in December of 1967 in Cape Town, South Africa. Cardiovascular researchers met in South Africa in December 2017 to commemorate this event, presenting an opportune time to reflect on the achievements of applied cardiovascular research and highlight forthcoming technology developments that will shape the future of cardiovascular medicine. The clinical breakthrough in 1967 offered hope to many patients suffering with cardiac complications, and these life-saving surgeries continue to have a tremendous impact. Tissue shortages, surgical risks, and complications due to improper host-transplant tissue interactions, however, limit the utility of heart transplants to the most severe cases of cardiac morbidity. Recent advances have yielded mechanistic insight into the factors that control cardiovascular tissue maintenance and remodeling. The field of regenerative medicine seeks to control these factors to promote in situ tissue regeneration or engineered tissue replacement. These exciting new technologies could lead to a renaissance in the treatment of many cardiovascular diseases, just as the realization of heart transplantation 50 years ago. In this Research Topic, researchers and clinicians from regenerative medicine and applied cardiovascular biology provide literature reviews and original manuscripts to demonstrate the trajectory of cardiovascular medicine. The contributions vertically integrate advances by clinicians, engineers, and basic scientists, all researching similar topics from different angles and with complementary perspectives. Taken together, these contributions demonstrate the process of applied cardiovascular research from basic science discoveries to implementation in clinical practice.

Regenerative medicine holds the potential to create living, functional cells and tissues that can be used to repair or replace those that have suffered potentially irreparable damage due to disease, age, traumatic injury, or genetic and congenital defects. The field of regenerative medicine is broad and includes research and development components of gene and cell therapies, tissue engineering, and non-biologic constructs. Although regenerative medicine has the potential to improve health and deliver economic benefits, this relatively new field faces challenges to developing policies and procedures to support the development of novel therapies are both safe and effective. In October 2016, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine hosted a public workshop with the goal of developing a broad understanding of the opportunities and challenges associated with regenerative medicine cellular therapies and related technologies. Participants explored the state of the science of cell-based regenerative therapies within the larger context of patient care and policy. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Stem cell and regenerative medicine research is a hot area of research which promises to change the face of medicine as it will be practiced in the years to come. Challenges in the 21st century to combat diseases such as tumors, Alzheimer’s disease and related neurodegenerative diseases may well be addressed employing stem cell therapies and tissue regeneration. Frontiers in Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research is essential reading for researchers seeking updates in stem cell therapeutics and regenerative medicine. The second volume of this series features reviews on several key topics in this field including cardiac regeneration strategies, induced pluripotent stem cell therapeutics, stem cell therapy for peripheral nerve and cutaneous injuries, dental tissue regeneration, the potential of stem cell differentiation into ovarian cells and much more.

Frontiers in Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research Volume 10 [Edited for Volume 10] Stem cell and regenerative medicine research is an important area of clinical research which promises to change the face of medicine as it will be practiced in the years to come. Challenges in the 21st century to combat diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and retinal disorders, among others, may well be addressed employing stem cell therapies and tissue regeneration techniques. Frontiers in Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research brings updates on multidisciplinary topics relevant to stem cell research and their application in regenerative medicine. The series is essential reading for researchers seeking updates in stem cell therapeutics and regenerative medicine. Volume 10 includes 5 chapters on these topics: -Novel drugs and their stem cell-based targets for osteoporosis: challenges and proceedings -The role of cancer stem cells in disease progression and therapy resistance -Stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth in tissue regeneration -The fate of toxicological studies: from animal models to stem cell-based methods -Effect of material properties on differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells

The Research Topic is organized in the framework of the project BIORECAR (grant number: 772168; http://www.biorecar.polito.it/index.html)