Abstract

COVID-19 Therapeutics Safety ‘Clinical Trial’ with Cardiac Microphysiological Systems

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

Three-dimensional (3D) microphysiological systems (MPSs) mimicking human organ function in vitro are an emerging alternative to conventional monolayer cell culture and animal models for myriad applications. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have the potential to capture the diversity of human genetics and provide an unlimited supply of cells. Combining hiPSCs with microfluidics technology in MPSs offers new perspectives for applications as diverse as drug development and organ preservation. This talk will address the use of our heart muscle MPS to assess the cardiac liabilities associated with repurposed therapeutics that treat SARS-CoV-2 infection. We propose that this MPS can help clinicians design their trials, rapidly project cardiac outcomes, and define new monitoring biomarkers to accelerate access of patients to safe COVID-19 therapeutics.