Stranger than friction: A force initiating life

Scientists examine how friction forces propel development in a marine organism

Peer-Reviewed Publication

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AUSTRIA

 

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SEA SQUIRTS ATTACHED ON REEF. THE MARINE ORGANISM IS A GREAT MODEL TO STUDY DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESSES OF VERTEBRATES.

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CREDIT: © SHUTTERSTOCK/ISTA

As the potter works the spinning wheel, the friction between their hands and the soft clay helps them shape it into all kinds of forms and creations. In a fascinating parallel, sea squirt oocytes (immature egg cells) harness friction within various compartments in their interior to undergo developmental changes after conception. A study from the Heisenberg group at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), published in Nature Physics, now describes how this works.

The sea is full of fascinating life forms. From algae and colorful fish to marine snails and sea squirts, a completely different world reveals itself underwater. Sea squirts or ascidians in particular are very unusual: after a free-moving larvae stage, the larva settles down, attaches to solid surfaces like rocks or corals, and develops tubes (siphons), their defining feature. Although they look like rubbery blobs as adults, they are the most closely related invertebrate relatives to humans. Especially at the larval stages, sea squirts are surprisingly similar to us.

Therefore, ascidians are often used as model organisms to study the early embryonic development of vertebrates to which humans belong. “While ascidians exhibit the basic developmental and morphological features of vertebrates, they also have the cellular and genomic simplicity typical of invertebrates,” explains Carl-Philipp Heisenberg, Professor at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA). “Especially the ascidian larva is an ideal model for understanding early vertebrate development.”

His research group’s latest work, published in Nature Physics, now gives new insights into their development. The findings suggest that upon fertilization of ascidian oocytes, friction forces play a crucial role in reshaping and reorganizing their insides, heralding the next steps in their developmental cascade.

Decoding oocyte transformation
Oocytes are female germ cells involved in reproduction. After successful fertilization with male sperm, animal oocytes typically undergo cytoplasmic reorganization, altering their cellular contents and components. This process establishes the blueprint for the embryo’s subsequent development. In ascidians, for instance, this reshuffling leads to the formation of a bell-like protrusion—a little bump or nose shape—known as the contraction pole (CP), where essential materials gather that facilitate the embryo’s maturation. The underlying mechanism driving this process, however, has been unknown.

A group of scientists from ISTA, Université de Paris Cité, CNRS, King’s College London, and Sorbonne Université set out to decipher that mystery. For this endeavor, the Heisenberg group imported adult ascidians from the Roscoff Marine Station in France. Almost all sea squirts are hermaphrodites, as they produce both male and female germ cells. “In the lab, we keep them in saltwater tanks in a species-appropriate manner to obtain eggs and sperm for studying their early embryonic development,” says Silvia Caballero-Mancebo, the first author of this study and previous PhD student in the Heisenberg lab.

The scientists microscopically analyzed fertilized ascidian oocytes and realized that they were following very reproducible changes in cell shape leading up to the formation of the contraction pole. The researchers' first investigation focused on the actomyosin (cell) cortex—a dynamic structure found beneath the cell membrane in animal cells. Composed of actin filaments and motor proteins, it generally acts as a driver for shape changes in cells.

“We uncovered that when cells are fertilized, increased tension in the actomyosin cortex causes it to contract, leading to its movement (flow), resulting in the initial changes of the cell’s shape,” Caballero-Mancebo continues. The actomyosin flows, however, stopped during the expansion of the contraction pole, suggesting that there are additional players responsible for the bump.

Friction forces impact cell reshaping
The scientists took a closer look at other cellular components that might play a role in the expansion of the contraction pole. In doing so, they came across the myoplasm, a layer composed of intracellular organelles and molecules (related forms of which are found in many vertebrate and invertebrate eggs), positioned in the lower region of the ascidian egg cell. “This specific layer behaves like a stretchy solid—it changes its shape along with the oocyte during fertilization,” Caballero-Mancebo explains.

During the actomyosin cortex flow, the myoplasm folds and forms many buckles due to the friction forces established between the two components. As actomyosin movement stops, the friction forces also disappear. “This cessation eventually leads to the expansion of the contraction pole as the multiple myoplasm buckles resolve into the well-defined bell-like-shaped bump,” Caballero-Mancebo adds.

The study provides novel insight into how mechanical forces determine cell and organismal shape. It shows that friction forces are pivotal for shaping and forming an evolving organism. However, scientists are only at the beginning of understanding the specific role of friction in embryonic development. Heisenberg adds: “The myoplasm is also very intriguing, as it is involved in other embryonic processes of ascidians as well. Exploring its unusual material properties and grasping how they play a role in shaping sea squirts, will be highly interesting.”

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Information on animal studies
In order to better understand fundamental processes, for example, in the fields of neuroscience, immunology, or genetics, the use of animals in research is indispensable. No other methods, such as in silico models, can serve as alternative. The animals are raised, kept, and treated according to the strict regulations of Austrian law. All animal procedures are approved by the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research.

 

A live look inside oocytes (VIDEO)

A live look inside oocytes. The researchers labeled the actin protein of the actomyosin cortex (left, green staining) and the myoplasm (right, blue staining) to visualize their movement after the oocyte’s fertilization. As the actomyosin cortex moves in the lower region of the egg, it mechanically interacts with the myoplasm, causing it to buckle. The buckles eventually resolve into the contraction pole.

Formation of the contraction pole (CP) (VIDEO)

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AUSTRIA\

Formation of the contraction pole. Microscopic time-lapse of cell shape changes in ascidian oocytes after fertilization: From an unfertilized egg to contraction pole initiation to contraction pole formation to contraction pole absorption.

 

Formation of the contraction pole. Microscopic time-lapse of cell shape changes in ascidian oocytes after fertilization: From an unfertilized egg (first image from the left) to contraction pole initiation (2nd and 3rd images from the left) and contraction pole formation (4th image from left).

CREDIT

© Caballero-Mancebo et al./Nature Physics

Silvia Caballero-Mancebo. The ISTA graduate finds great joy in unraveling nature’s puzzles and transforming them into narratives.

CREDIT

© Nadine Poncioni/ISTA

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JOURNAL

Nature Physics

DOI

10.1038/s41567-023-02302-1 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Cells

ARTICLE TITLE

Friction forces determine cytoplasmic reorganization and shape changes of ascidian oocytes upon fertilization

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

9-Jan-2024

 

The Meaning of Force

• Meaning of Force
• Force Types
• Drawing Free-Body Diagrams
• Meaning of Net Force

A force is a push or pull upon an object resulting from the object's interaction with another object. Whenever there is an interaction between two objects, there is a force upon each of the objects. When the interaction ceases, the two objects no longer experience the force. Forces only exist as a result of an interaction.

Juice is Stranger Than Friction Selected Writings of T- ...

Charles H. Kerr Publishing

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by T-Bone Slim. edited by Franklin Rosemont. Publication date: January 1993. Paperback: $10.00. Hardcover: $19.00. Buy from AK Press (Paperback) 

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Aug 16, 2020 — Pamphlet from American Wobbly and humorist T-Bone Slim, put out in 1923, containing the texts 'Starving Amidst Too Much' (excerpts), ...

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HEY KIDZ GOOD NEWZ

Smart skin bacteria are able to secrete and produce molecules to treat acne

An experimental study led by the Translational Synthetic Biology Laboratory of Pompeu Fabra University has shown that a type of skin bacterium can efficiently be engineered to produce a protein to regulate sebum production. This application could treat acne

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITAT POMPEU FABRA - BARCELONA

International research led by the Translational Synthetic Biology Laboratory of the Department of Medicine and Life Sciences (MELIS) at Pompeu Fabra University has succeeded in efficiently engineering Cutibacterium acnes -a type of skin bacterium- to produce and secrete a therapeutic molecule suitable for treating acne symptoms. The engineered bacterium has been validated in skin cell lines and its delivery has been validated in mice. This finding opens the door to broadening the way for engineering non-tractable bacteria to address skin alterations and other diseases using living therapeutics. 

The research team is completed by scientists from the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (Idibell), the University of Barcelona, the Protein Technologies Facility of the Centre for Genomic Regulation, Phenocell SAS, Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg Theodor Fontane, Lund University, and Aarhus University.

Acne is a common skin condition caused by the blockage or inflammation of the pilosebaceous follicles. Its appearance can vary, ranging from whiteheads and blackheads to pustules and nodules, mainly on the face, forehead, chest, upper back and shoulders. Although acne is most common among adolescents, it can affect people of all ages. 

The most severe cases of acne are treated with antibiotics to kill bacteria living in the follicles, or isotretinoin (known as Accutane), a vitamin A derivative, which induces the death of sebocytes, the epithelial skin cells that produce sebum. However, these treatments can cause serious side effects such as breaking skin microbiome homeostasis -because they are not selectively killing bacteria- or photosensitivity, in the case of antibiotics, or birth defects or extreme scaling of skin, in the case of isotretinoin. 

The results of the study, published today in Nature Biotechnology, show that researchers have successfully edited the genome of Cutibacterium acnes to secrete and produce NGAL protein known to be a mediator of the acne drug, isotretinoin, that has been shown to reduce sebum by inducing the death of sebocytes. 

“We have developed a topical therapy with a targeted approach, using what nature already has. We engineered a bacterium that lives in the skin and make it produce what our skin needs. Here, we focused on treating acne, but this platform can be extended to several other indications”, says Nastassia Knödlseder, first author of the study.  

 

Broadening the way of engineering bacteria

“Until now, C. acnes was considered an intractable bacterium. It was incredibly difficult to introduce DNA and get proteins produced or secreted from an element inserted into its genome”, explains Knödlseder, who is a postdoc in the UPF Translational Synthetic Biology Laboratory.

However, since C. acnes seems an attractive synthetic biology chassis for treating skin diseases due to its niche environment deep inside hair follicles -practically where sebum is released-, its importance for skin homeostasis, its close contact to relevant therapeutic targets, plus the fact that it has been shown to successfully engraft when applied to human skin, led them to insist on editing the genome of this non-engineerable bacterium.  

To edit the genome of C. acnes, the research team led by Marc Güell has focused on improving DNA delivery to the cell, DNA stability inside the cell, and gene expression. The scientists have considered regulatory measures by developing a biocontainment strategy to avoid the use of elements that generate regulatory concerns such as mobile genetic elements, plasmids or antibiotic resistance. Hence, the resulting synthetic bacterium has safety features to enable “real-life application” and consider it for future human therapeutics.

Synthetic C. acnes is able to secrete and produce NGAL to modulate sebum production in cell lines. When applied to the skin of mice -the only animal model able to test engineered bacteria to date- they engraft, live and produce the protein. However, mice skin it is not comparable to humans’. It has more hair, is looser, has less lipids and a different sweat mechanism. Hence the need for an alternative model, better representing human skin, such as 3D skin models.

 

The road to therapeutics

“We have developed a technology platform that opens the door to editing any bacteria to treat multiple diseases. We are now focused in using C. acnes to treat acne but we can deliver genetic circuits to create smart microbes for applications related to skin sensing, or immune modulation”, points out Marc Güell, who has led the research.

Following the same strategy, this research line will continue under the European Project ‘SkinDev’ in which scientists from the Translational Synthetic Biology lab together with its partners will engineer C. acnes to address atopic dermatitis, a chronic cutaneous inflammatory condition characterized by dry skin, eczema and severe irritation, especially common among young children.

Although any living therapeutics strategy should be validated individually, the researchers show their optimism in applying these smart microbes to humans because non-engineered C. acnes has already been tested on the skin of patients safely and effectively.

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JOURNAL

Nature Biotechnology

DOI

10.1038/s41587-023-02072-4 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Delivery of a sebum modulator by an engineered skin microbe in mice

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

9-Jan-2024

COI STATEMENT

MG, NK, MJF and JSM have filed intellectual property.

 

Acidity of Antarctic waters could double by century’s end, threatening biodiversity

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER

The acidity of Antarctica’s coastal waters could double by the end of the century, threatening whales, penguins and hundreds of other species that inhabit the Southern Ocean, according to new research from the Univeristy of Colorado Boulder.

Scientists projected that by 2100, the upper 650 feet (200 meters) of the ocean—where much marine life resides—could see more than a 100% increase in acidity compared with 1990s levels. The paper, appeared Jan. 4 in the journal Nature Communications. 

“The findings are critical for our understanding of the future evolution of marine ecosystem health,” said Nicole Lovenduski, the paper’s co-author and the interim director of CU Boulder’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR).  

The oceans play an important role as a buffer against climate change by absorbing nearly 30% of the CO2 emitted worldwide. But as more CO2 dissolves in the oceans, the seawater becomes more acidic. “Human-caused CO2 emissions are at the heart of ocean acidification,” said Cara Nissen, the paper’s first author and a research scientist at INSTAAR.

The Southern Ocean, which surrounds Antarctica, is particularly susceptible to acidification, partly because colder water tends to absorb more CO2. Ocean currents in the area also contribute to the relatively acidic water conditions. 

Using a computer model, Nissen, Lovenduski and the team simulated how the seawater of the Southern Ocean would change in the 21st century. They found it would become more acidic by 2100, and the situation would be severe if the world fails to cut emissions. 

“It’s not just the top layer of the ocean. The entire water column of the coastal Southern Ocean, even at the bottom, could experience severe acidification,” Nissen said.

The team then investigated the conditions specifically in Antarctica’s marine protected areas (MPAs). Human activities, such as fishing, are restricted in these regions to protect biodiversity. Currently, there are two MPAs in the Southern Ocean, covering about 12% of water in the region. Scientists have proposed designating three more MPAs to an international council in the past years, which would encompass about 60% of the Antarctic Ocean. 

The team’s model showed that both adopted and proposed MPAs would experience significant acidification by the end of the century.

For example, under the highest-emission scenario, where the world makes no efforts to cut emissions, the average acidity of the water in the Ross Sea region—the world’s largest MPA off the northern tip of Antarctica—would increase by 104% over 1990s levels by 2100. Under an intermediate emissions scenario, the water would still become 43% more acidic.

“It’s surprising to me how severe ocean acidification would be in these coastal waters,” Nissen said. 

Previous studies have shown that phytoplankton, a group of algae that forms the basis of the marine food web, grow at a slower rate or die out when the water becomes too acidic. Acidic water also weakens the shells of organisms like sea snails and sea urchins. These changes could disrupt the food web, eventually impacting top predators like whales and penguins.   

The Weddell Sea is one of the three proposed MPAs located off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. Nissen said scientists think the Weddell Sea region could act as a climate change sanctuary for organisms, mainly because this area has the highest levels of sea ice coverage in the Antarctic. The ice shields the ocean from warming and prevents the seawater underneath from absorbing CO2 from the air, thereby reducing the rate of acidification. In addition, the region has little human activity to date. 

But the model suggested that as the planet continues to warm, the sea ice will melt, and the Weddell Sea region will experience acidification on par with other MPAs under intermediate to high emission scenarios, but with a slightly delayed progression. 

“The result shows that establishing the Weddell Sea region as a protected area should have high priority,” Nissen said. 

“As a scientist who typically studies the open ocean, I tend to think of Antarctic coastal areas as a conduit for climate signals to reach the global, deep ocean.  This study reminded me that these dynamic Antarctic coastal areas are also themselves capable of rapid change,” Lovenduski said.

The study suggests that the world could only avoid severe ocean acidification of the Southern Ocean under the lowest emission scenario, where society cuts CO2 emissions quickly and aggressively. 

“We still have time to select our emission pathway, but we don’t have much,” Nissen said. 
 

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JOURNAL

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-023-44438-x 

ARTICLE TITLE

Severe 21st-century ocean acidification in Antarctic Marine Protected Areas

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

4-Jan-2024

 

Current research on prevalence of prolonged grief disorder is inadequate

Recent literature relies on patient self-report for diagnosis, without clinical interviews

Peer-Reviewed Publication

WOLTERS KLUWER HEALTH

Waltham — January 8, 2024 — Proper procedures for diagnosing prolonged grief disorder (PGD) are not being followed in research into its prevalence, according to a study published in Harvard Review of Psychiatry, part of the Lippincott portfolio from Wolters Kluwer. What’s more, most published literature doesn’t clearly acknowledge the limitations of the methodology used. 

The lead investigator was Margaret S. Stroebe, PhD, a clinical psychologist at Utrecht University and the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. She and her colleagues elaborate, "Prevalences of PGD are based on self-reported symptomatology, with rates derived from percentages of bereaved persons reaching a certain cutoff score on a questionnaire, without clinical interviewing. This likely results in systematic overestimation of prevalences."  

Formal procedures to establish the presence of PGD are becoming mandatory 

Prolonged grief has been described as grief reactions that become abnormally persistent and cause significant impairment in daily functioning. PGD was added to the 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) in 2018 and to the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in its 2022 text revision (DSM-5-TR). 

Neither handbook is a diagnostic instrument; they are simply classification systems, providing lists of key symptoms for various disorders. "It follows that diagnosis of disorder cannot be made on the basis either reaching a cutoff point on a self-report measure or scoring high on particular items designed to screen for symptoms according to DSM/ICD," Dr. Stroebe’s group emphasizes. "Clinical interviews and judgment are imperative and serve to provide additional information to that provided in a questionnaire for developing a fuller understanding of the bereaved person's experience."  

Yet when the researchers reviewed 22 peer-reviewed articles on the prevalence of PGD, published between 2019 and 2023, they found that not one of them used interviews to establish the diagnosis. What’s more, only eight of the articles explicitly highlighted—both in their titles/abstracts and discussion sections—the limitations of relying on self-reported ratings. 

The problems identified in this analysis "equally apply to research focused on issues such as the phenomenological characteristics of PGD or the effects of interventions for people suffering from PGD," the research team believes. 

Guidance for improvement in research—and in clinical practice 

New self-report screening tools have been validated for identifying people at risk of PGD per ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR, including the Traumatic Grief Inventory–Self Report Plus and the International Prolonged Grief Disorder Scale. The authors say these instruments are cost-effective and time-efficient but stress that reaching a self-report symptom cutoff point on a questionnaire is only suggestive of diagnostic status. The same is true of scoring high on self-report symptoms stated in a diagnostic handbook. Clinical judgment is needed to establish diagnostic status. 

Dr. Stroebe and her colleagues provide guidance on factors to take into account. "DSM-5-TR notes that among associated features of PGD that the clinician may need to consider are maladaptive cognitions, somatic complaints, and harmful health behaviors," they write. Other considerations are the availability of supportive resources and the bereaved person’s life circumstances and cultural affiliation. "These factors affect not only clinical diagnosis but also other consequential clinical decisions, such as those with respect to psychoeducation and treatment priorities." 

Read Article [ On the Classification and Reporting of Prolonged Grief: Assessment and Research Guidelines ] 

Wolters Kluwer provides trusted clinical technology and evidence-based solutions that engage clinicians, patients, researchers and students in effective decision-making and outcomes across healthcare. We support clinical effectiveness, learning and research, clinical surveillance and compliance, as well as data solutions. For more information about our solutions, visit https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/health. 

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About HRP 

Harvard Review of Psychiatry is the authoritative source for scholarly reviews and perspectives on a diverse range of important topics in psychiatry. Founded by the Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry, the journal is peer-reviewed and not industry-sponsored. It is affiliated with all of the Departments of Psychiatry at the Harvard teaching hospitals. 

Articles encompass all major issues in contemporary psychiatry, including (but not limited to) neuroscience, psychopharmacology, psychotherapy, history of psychiatry, and ethics. In addition to scholarly reviews, perspectives articles, and columns, the journal includes a Clinical Challenge section that presents a case followed by discussion and debate from a panel of experts.

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Wolters Kluwer reported 2022 annual revenues of €5.5 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 20,900 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands.  

For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com, follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube. 

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JOURNAL

Harvard Review of Psychiatry

ARTICLE TITLE

On the Classification and Reporting of Prolonged Grief: Assessment and Research Guidelines

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

8-Jan-2024

 

New NIH-funded center could soon reduce the need for pharmaceutical trials on animals

Rochester is one of four NIH-sponsored centers that aims to produce tissue-on-chip devices as FDA-qualified drug development tools

Grant and Award Announcement

UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER

 

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RESEARCHERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER’S NEW TRANSLATIONAL CENTER FOR BARRIER MICROPHYSIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS (TRACE-BMPS) DEVELOP DRUG DEVELOPMENT TOOLS USING THE MODULAR, MASS-PRODUCIBLE ΜSIM CHIPS PICTURED HERE AND PIONEERED BY CENTER DIRECTOR JAMES MCGRATH, THE WILLIAM R. KENAN JR. PROFESSOR OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING.

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CREDIT: UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER PHOTO / J. ADAM FENSTER

The University of Rochester will house a new national center focused on using tissue-on-chip technology to develop drugs more rapidly and reduce the need for animal trials. The National Institutes of Health awarded a $7.5 million grant to establish the Translational Center for Barrier Microphysiological Systems (TraCe-bMPS) at Rochester in partnership with Duke University.

The center aims to develop five Food and Drug Administration–qualified drug development tools related to study barrier functions in disease—interfaces in tissue that are critical for the progression of infection, cancer, and many autoimmune disorders. Over the five-year grant, the researchers will create drug development tools specifically related to central nervous system disorders, fibrosis, musculoskeletal autoimmune disease, sepsis, and osteomyelitis.

The TraCe-bMPS scientists will create the drug development tools using microphysiological systems—small chips with ultrathin membranes of human cells. They will be built using the modular, mass-producible µSiM chips pioneered by center director James McGrath, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Biomedical Engineering.

McGrath says that testing drugs on µSiM chips can lead to fewer animal trials. And because researchers will be studying the drugs’ effects on human cells, they may also help overcome some of the critical differences between testing on humans and animals.

“Drug discovery is moving into an era where fewer animals are used to test for safety and efficacy,” says McGrath. “Instead, more screening will be done on tissue chips that pattern human cells in a way that mimics human tissue and disease. Our chips are designed to provide the higher throughput and more reliable indications that pharmaceutical companies need to get their drugs approved for clinical trials and use by patients.”

Hani Awad, the Donald and Mary Clark Distinguished Professor in Orthopaedics and a professor of biomedical engineering, will serve as the associate director for development. He says Congress passing the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 in 2022 made the center possible and that the team is excited to help shape the future of drug development.

“The timing could not be more perfect,” says Awad. “As a biomedical engineer and scientist, I find the elegant fusion of engineering and biology inherent in the design and validation of these tissue chips as disease models and drug-testing platforms to be one of the most rewarding pursuits in my professional career. I can’t wait to see what this team will be developing over the next five years, and beyond.”

Biomedical engineering PhD students Danial Ahmad (L) and Molly McCloskey assemble fixtures used to guide components and membrane chips to create the modular µSiM tissue chip platform, featuring an ultrathin nanomembrane.

CREDIT

University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster

The chips produced by TraCe-bMPS will feature photonic biosensors crafted by Benjamin Miller, a Dean’s Professor of Dermatology at Rochester with joint appointments in biomedical engineering, biochemistry and biophysics, optics, and materials science.

CREDIT

University of Rochester photo / Benjamin Miller Lab

The chips will feature photonic biosensors crafted by Benjamin Miller, a Dean’s Professor of Dermatology at Rochester with joint appointments in biomedical engineering, biochemistry and biophysics, optics, and materials science. Miller, the center’s associate director for resources, says the center is the culmination of years of research and collaboration.

“Getting our devices qualified by the FDA as drug development tools will mean that we’re a step closer to doing ‘clinical trials on chip’ with fully human models, increasing the likelihood of a drug candidate being successful when it actually gets to human clinical trials,” says Miller. “This is also a great opportunity to build an interdisciplinary training environment for our students and expand a collaboration with my colleagues that has been very productive.”

Joan Adamo, director of the Office of Regulatory Support at the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute, will serve as associate director for qualification and will prepare all submissions to the FDA for qualification. Adamo says she sees the ambitious program having far-reaching implications.

“This unique program involves close collaboration with the FDA through a series of qualification steps—a critical aspect to addressing unmet needs,” says Adamo. “I am looking forward to working closely with the agency and our collaborators on this regulatory science project. We will achieve qualification of these vital drug development tools, which will accelerate research conducted at URMC and be shared with other academic health centers and industry programs.”

George Truskey, the R. Eugene and Susie E. Goodson Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University, will serve as associate director and direct collaborative activities at Duke University. The TRaCE-bMPS is also supported by a deep network of co-investigators at Rochester, Duke, and Rochester Institute of Technology, a distinguished advisory board, expert consultants, and key industry partners. The NIH grant is expected to fund TRaCE-bMPS through fiscal year 2028 (FY28).

The research funding is provided by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number U2CAG088071. The content in this article is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.