NIH awards multi-million grant for groundbreaking organ transplantation research

Researchers at the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation have been awarded a multi-million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to advance research in organ transplantation and antibody-mediated rejection. This funding will facilitate the development of an innovative multi-organs-on-a-chip platform aimed at transforming our understanding of transplant rejection and immune tolerance.

Organ transplantation is widely recognized as the most effective treatment for organ failure. However, the need for lifelong immunosuppressive therapy poses substantial challenges, including heightened risks of infections, cancer, heart disease, and kidney damage. Despite progress in the field, current preclinical models fail to accurately reflect human immune responses in transplantation, underscoring the need for more advanced research tools.

 Dr. Vadim Jucaud, Ph.D., Assistant Professor and principal investigator of the project, 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 Dr. Jucaud. "It is great to see the NIH invest in developing next-generation in vitro models for organ transplantation research. This novel multi-organ-on-a-chip platform will allow us to continue the pioneering work of my early career mentor, Dr. Paul I. Terasaki."

We are excited about the potential impact of this research. Our unique experience in organs-on-a-chip and immunology enables this project, which will advance our understanding of transplantation to improve patients' lives."

Dr. Ali Khademhosseini, Ph.D., Director and CEO of TIBI