“I always emphasize that this is an incredible example of the Wisconsin Idea. Something started in the University of Wisconsin, and was able to be translated to patients,” said Allen-Hoffman.

“Lynn started nearly 20 years ago in the lab,” said Steve Romano, the chief scientific officer for Mallinckrodt. “It's very unusual, even in industry, for anyone to work in the pre-clinical space, and then see what they've worked on reach the patient.”

Progenitor cells, like stem cells, are biological building blocks that can change into different forms of tissue depending on their environment. They differ from stem cells in that they cannot reproduce indefinitely, and are limited in the type of cell they can grow into.

Like stem cells, however, they have come to play a key role in what’s known as regenerative medicine – a field having to do with the restoration or regeneration of tissue, cells or organs in a body. Already, the StrataGraft product has been flagged by the Food and Drug Administration as a therapy with high regenerative medical potential.