Organ-on-chip innovation: modeling the complex tumor microenvironment for drug discovery

Thursday 08:00 PDT / 11:00 EDT / 16:00 BST / 17:00 CEST

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Organ-on-chip innovation: modeling the complex tumor microenvironment for drug discovery

Live30 webinars are thirty-minute presentations designed to update you on the latest innovations, applications, and data in a fast yet interactive format.

Modelling the highly complex tumor microenvironment (TME) poses a great challenge to those studying cancer in preclinical drug discovery, particularly due to the limitations of animal models. This webinar explores the modelling of the multicellular TME of pancreatic cancer on a fit-for-purpose vascularized spheroid-on-chip model. The head of the cancer team at Dynamic42 will highlight cutting-edge developments in organ-on-chip technology, such as integrating immune responses, perfusion, and vascular systems with tumor spheroids in a biochip.

In addition, researchers from the Heinrich-Heine University in Düsseldorf will present data from their proof-of-concept study detailing the success of vorinostat (SAHA), an FDA-approved histone deacetylase inhibitor, in reducing tumor cell viability and endothelial integrity in this spheroid-on-chip model.

In this webinar:

• Learn how to replicate the intricate tumor microenvironment of pancreatic cancer (PDAC) using spheroids-on-chip

• See data showing that dynamic drug administration of SAHA (72h) showed significantly impaired viability of PDAC spheroids, while integrity of the endothelial layer stayed intact

• Gain an outlook on the significance of such cancer-on-chip models and those developed in reducing reliance on animal experiments and further translation into the clinic

Thomas Sommermann

Senior Scientist (Head of Cancer Team) at Dynamic42

Thomas Sommermann completed his PhD at Harvard where he worked on cell signaling and cell metabolism of lymphomas associated with Epstein-Barr virus. He continued his research at mdc where he worked on lymphomas and the Epstein-Barr virus using transgenic mouse models. At Dynamic42 Tom is now heading the cancer team and working on development of a cancer spheroid-on-a-chip models.

Alina Deipenbrock

PhD Candidate at Heinrich Heine University

Alina Deipenbrock completed her master's degree in molecular biomedicine with a focus on immuno-oncology, investigating dendritic cell-induced CMV-specific T cell responses in glioblastoma patients. She is currently a BMBF-funded PhD candidate at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology and Biotechnology at HHU, focusing on the development of an immunocompetent 3D biochip model of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma for preclinical drug testing. Her research combines molecular oncology, immunology, and translational approaches and has already been published in renowned journals.

Nicole Teusch

Managing Director, Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology and Biotechnology at Heinrich Heine University

Nicole is Managing Director of the Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology and Biotechnology at Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf since 2022. Her scientific work is dedicated to the development of novel human three-dimensional engineered tissues considering cellular heterogeneity amenable for drug discovery. Nicole has a PhD in cell biology form the Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in La Jolla, California. She had several positions in preclinical drug discovery in big pharma before pursing her university academic career.

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