Multi-Million Dollar Grant Awarded for Organ Transplantation Research

Researchers at the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation have been awarded a multi-million dollar grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to advance research in organ transplantation and antibody mediated rejection. The research will focus on creating a state-of-the-art multi-organs-on-a-chip platform comprised of a vascularized liver-on-a-chip and heart-on-a-chip, with a fully integrated biosensor system to study the underlying mechanisms of antibody-mediated rejection and liver-mediated cardiac allograft tolerance. This cutting-edge model will simulate the complex physiological functions and microvasculature of liver and heart allografts to explore mechanisms of antibody-mediated rejection and tolerance with unprecedented precision.

“We hope that our proposed model will provide critical insights that can lead to improved treatment strategies and outcomes for transplant patients,” said Vadim Jucaud, PhD, assistant professor and principal investigator of the project. “It is great to see the NIH invest in developing next-generation in vitro models for organ transplantation research. This novel multi-organ-on-achip platform will allow us to continue the pioneering work of my early career mentor, Dr. Paul I. Terasaki.”