Descripción del proyecto
This project is a proof-of-concept study for organoid drug testing platform for disease modeling of cardiac fibrosis. I am going to develop a cardiac organoid on chip platform for disease modeling of cardiac fibrosis to identify the molecular mechanism of the pathologic interplay between endothelial cells, cardiomyocytes and cardiac fibroblasts, and its regulation by specific drug treatments. This model will be based on cardiac organoids previously developed at the host lab modified with endothelial cell component. Organoids with and without endothelial cells will be a tool for identification of endothelial contribution in cardiac fibrosis. Molecular mechanisms will be identified through selective interventions in known fibrotic pathways, with special focus on the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System. In addition, validity of this tool for drug testing will be established by proof-of-effect of known medications on fibrotic molecular phenotype and cardiac function. The platform will be designed as medium through-put for patient treatment optimization (precision medicine) and drug testing. Collectively, it has the potential to replace animal models in mechanistic research and drug development.
The host lab is the perfect fit for this project. It has been on the forefront of cardiac organoid research and their previous work is the cornerstone for the cardiac organoid model used here. They possess the latest equipment for on-chip organoid cultivation and have extensive experience with augmentation and optimization of biopolymer hardness to simulate fibrotic environment. Additionally, Prof. Sluijter’s professional network of contacts and cooperation with local university spin-off companies provides the opportunity to investigate the interest of the industry in application of this project by scale-up of our drug testing platform for high through-put organoid drug screening platform.