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A joint £15.9 million investment by the UKRI Medical Research Council (MRC), Wellcome and UKRI Innovate UK will enable the development of advanced, specific and highly reproducible human in vitro models with the aim of making them widely available to researchers in academia and industry.
In vitro models use isolated cells and tissues outside the living body and can come in many forms, including stem-cell derived cell and tissue aggregates that display some organ features on a smaller scale (organoids), tissue slices removed during surgery (ex vivo/explant tissue cultures), and organ-on-chips, which combine cell culture with microfluidics to mimic the structure and function of different organ tissues.
In vitro models will also provide new alternatives, helping to reduce the reliance on animal models in research and drug development, and support the Government's 'Replacing animals in science - a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods.'
A co-ordinated network of five interdisciplinary teams will focus on the development of in vitro disease models of liver, brain, cancer, pain, and blood vessels.
Tonia joins the pain cluster, led by Professor Zameel Cader, Director of the Oxford Headache Centre at the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences (NDCD).
Read the full story on the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences website