Emerging Organoid Models: Translating Basic Research to Drug Development and Regenerative Medicine

The historical reliance of on the use of animal models in biological research posed a challenge to addressing several questions which are specific to the understanding of human biology and disease. In addition, it has contributed to the high clinical failure rate in drug development across all disease categories. But with the advent of human organoids — which are stem cell-derived 3D culture systems — it is now possible to re-create the architecture and physiology of human organs in remarkable detail. Organoids hold great promise to improve understanding of human biology and disease, transform drug development, precision medicine, and ultimately, transplantation-based therapies for end-stage diseases. This talk discusses new advancements in engineering next-generation organoids with organ-level complexity, their biomedical applications and outlines the challenges that need to be overcome to enable organoids to substantially reduce the need for animal experiments.