Abstract

Microphysiological Systems as Testbeds Spanning Drug Discovery to Organ Preservation

Kevin Healy, Jan Fandrianto and Selfia Halim Distinguished Professorship in Engineering, University of California, Berkeley

Our work has emphasized creating both healthy and diseased model organ systems, called microphysiological systems, to address the costly and inefficient drug discovery process. While organ chips are poised to disrupt the drug development process and significantly reduce the cost of bringing a new drug candidate to market, organ chip technology is much more robust and creates a whole new paradigm in how to study biology, and advances medicine in revolutionary ways. Emerging use of microphysiological systems span organ preservation, biomaterials development, gene editing, and environmental toxicology. This presentation will discuss examples of exploiting microphysiological systems as unique testbeds for these cutting edge areas.