Wen is a bioengineering, cell biology and anatomy professor at Clemson. He works at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston in the schools' joint bioengineering program.

Wen proposes to inhibit inflammatory responses, which will enhance integration of the cells into the host neural circuitry.

Wen’s lab at the CU-MUSC Bioengineering Program is developing cocktails to induce specialization of human stem cells into different types of cells aimed at the cure for many diseases and injuries. If successful, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, diabetes, heart and brain strokes and spinal cord injuries could be reduced.

The use of human stem cells to supply specialized cells to repair the body is one aspect of regenerative medicine, a branch of bioengineering that uses knowledge of how cells form, specialize and organize to repair or replace damaged tissue and organs.

Clemson, MUSC and the University of South Carolina have a biomedical engineering partnership that could make South Carolina a leader in regenerative medicine and bioengineering technology. The collaborating universities secured a commitment of $6 million from 2004 state education lottery proceeds, which will be matched by an additional $6 million raised privately by the universities. The goal is to establish the S.C. Center for Regenerative Medicine.

The bioengineering department at Clemson University has been a national leader in the field of biomaterials science and engineering for more than 40 years. In addition, Clemson is recognized internationally as the birthplace of the Society for Biomaterials, the leading professional society in the field of biomaterials science and engineering.

From Clemson