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Collaborative Awards to Support Microphysiological System Pilot Studies in Diabetes Research

May 2024 Council

Lead Division/Office

DEM

Point(s) of Contact

Albert Hwa, Ph.D.

Executive Summary

Advances in biomaterials, microfluidics, and tissue engineering have resulted in microphysiological systems (MPSs) that allow for greater control of three-dimensional cell cultures containing multiple cell types and constituting more physiological tissue organization. The use of patient samples and human induced pluripotent stem cell–derived cells coupled with MPSs will enable patient-on-a-chip or clinical-trial-on-a-chip studies of type 2 diabetes development and treatment that is currently not possible. The utility of these systems lends themselves to powerful in vitro modeling of metabolic tissue crosstalk, study of basic mechanisms of human type 2 diabetes, and the testing of prevention and treatment strategies. MPSs are especially useful for investigating the heterogeneity of human T2D biology and clinical responses. However, adoption of such systems as a complementary research tool by traditional basic biology laboratories requires additional MPS expertise and resources. Opportunities exist for NIDDK to incentivize collaborative studies to encourage pairings of engineering and biology labs. The current initiative will support small pilot studies to conceptualize aspects of T2D biology for modeling with MPSs, to support feasibility studies, and to generate preliminary data. It is anticipated that these pilot awards may pave the way to enhance the success of future R01 submissions and broaden the use of MPSs in human T2D research.