Abstract

Microengineered Physiological Biomimicry: Human Organ-on-Chips

Dan Huh, Wilf Family Term Chair & Assistant Professor, University of Pennsylvania

Human organs are complex living systems in which specialized cells and tissues are assembled in various patterns to carry out integrated functions essential to the survival of the entire organism.  A paucity of predictive models that recapitulate the complexity of human organs and physiological systems poses major technical challenges in virtually all areas of life science and technology.  This talk will present interdisciplinary research efforts to develop microengineered biomimetic models that reconstitute complex structure, dynamic microenvironment, and physiological function of living human organs.  Specifically, I will talk about i) bioinspired microsystems that mimic the structural and functional complexity of the living human lung in health and disease, ii) an organ-on-chip microdevice that emulates the ocular surface of the human eye, and iii) microengineered physiological models of human reproductive organs.