Dr. Griffith will elaborate on her work with tissue engineered models of human organ systems and it’s accurate prediction of drug efficacy

On November 18, 2019, the acclaimed MIT Professor and member of the National Academy of Engineering, Dr. Linda G. Griffith, will visit BioInnovation Institute to give an exclusive talk at BII’s ‘Talks at the Square’ event series.

“Mice are not little people” – a refrain becoming louder as the strengths and weaknesses of animal models of human disease become more apparent. At the same time, three emerging approaches are headed toward integration: powerful systems biology analysis of cell-cell and intracellular signaling networks in patient-derived samples; 3D tissue engineered models of human organ systems, often made from stem cells; and micro-fluidic and meso-fluidic devices that enable living systems to be sustained, perturbed and analyzed for weeks in culture.

This talk will highlight the integration of these rapidly moving fields to understand difficult clinical problems, with an emphasis on translating academic discoveries into practical use. Technical challenges in modeling complex diseases with “organs on chips” approaches include the need for relatively large tissue masses and organ-organ cross talk to capture systemic effects, as well as new ways of thinking about scaling to capture multiple different functionalities from drug clearance to cytokine signaling crosstalk. Examples in gynecology and metabolic diseases will be highlighted.

Program of the day:

14.30-15.00 Doors open

15.00-15.05 Introduction

15.05-15.35 Dr. Linda Griffith: How organs on chips and systems biology can transform drug development

15.35-15.50 Q&A session

15.50-16.30 Informal networking and closing reception.