When talking about innovation, Dr. Tommy Rhee doesn’t start with theory. He starts with people. In fact, one of the most pivotal moments in his career began not in a lab, but with an injured NFL quarterback facing a grade III Achilles tendonitis. This was an injury that could have ended a season, if not a career.
“That case was urgent because time wasn’t just money—it was everything,” Dr. Rhee explains. “For an elite athlete, weeks of downtime can mean losing your starting position, your conditioning, and sometimes your future.”
It was that urgency that became the catalyst for RheeGen®, a topical regenerative therapy developed to support healing without sidelining the patient. Avoiding downtime wasn’t a luxury; it was a necessity. “Traditional approaches often force athletes to choose between healing and staying active,” he says. “I wanted to challenge that assumption.”
What convinced Dr. Rhee that RheeGen® was truly different were the outcomes he saw in real time. “We weren’t just seeing symptom relief,” he recalls. “We saw faster functional improvement, better tissue response, and—most importantly—patients returning to performance with confidence. When you see that consistently, you know you’re onto something.”
That experience shaped his broader philosophy about innovation in medicine. “The best breakthroughs come from listening,” he says. “When innovation is driven by real patient needs rather than theory alone, it stays grounded. Patients don’t live in textbooks—they live in bodies that need to move, work, and perform.”
For Dr. Rhee, watching a career-threatening injury turn into a success story never gets old. “It’s deeply personal,” he admits. “Every recovery represents trust. Someone is putting their future in your hands. When that trust is rewarded with a positive outcome, it reinforces why you do this work.”
That same motivation inspired him to write The Future of Regenerative Medicine: Unlocking the Potential of Topical Stem Cell Therapy. “I wanted to bridge the gap between hype and reality,” he says. “There’s so much confusion around regenerative medicine—what it can do, what it can’t, and what’s actually evidence-based.”
One of the biggest misconceptions he wanted to correct is the idea that regenerative therapies are either miracle cures or unproven science. “The truth is more nuanced,” Dr. Rhee explains. “When applied correctly, with the right protocols and patient selection, topical regenerative therapies can be powerful tools.”
Looking ahead, Dr. Rhee believes topical regenerative therapies will significantly change clinical practice over the next decade. “They’ll become more integrated, more personalized, and more accessible,” he says. “We’re moving toward treatments that support the body’s own repair mechanisms without excessive invasiveness or downtime.”
Education, he emphasizes, is central to that future. “Patients trust what they understand,” he says. “When clinicians take the time to explain how a technology works and why it’s appropriate, it transforms skepticism into partnership.”
Balancing innovation with evidence-based practice is a discipline Dr. Rhee takes seriously. “Every new idea has to earn its place,” he says. “We test, measure, refine, and validate. Innovation without evidence is just experimentation—and patients deserve better than that.”
For young clinicians aspiring to work with elite athletes or pioneer new therapies, his advice is refreshingly grounded. “Master the fundamentals first,” he says. “Build credibility through results, stay curious, and don’t chase trends. The best opportunities come to clinicians who consistently do good work.”
As he reflects on his career, Dr. Rhee hopes his legacy in Tampa, and in medicine more broadly, is one of integrity and impact. “I want to be known for improving lives, not just advancing techniques,” he says. “If future clinicians feel empowered to innovate responsibly and patients feel genuinely cared for, that’s a legacy worth leaving.”
For Dr. Tommy Rhee, the future of regenerative medicine isn’t just about what’s possible—it’s about what’s meaningful. And that distinction, much like his work, is what sets him apart.
RheeGen® is redefining regenerative medicine through pioneering, non-invasive, topical stem cell therapy. Founded by Dr. Thomas Rhee, a renowned sports chiropractor and the author of The future of Regenerative Medicine, whose experience spans UCLA Athletics, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the U.S. Navy, the company focuses on safe, science-based innovation in cellular recovery.