Project description
Novel bioreactor for advanced tissue-engineered heart valves
Tissue-engineered heart valves (TEHVs) are created using a combination of biological materials, cells, and synthetic scaffolds to mimic the function and structure of natural heart valves. Their key advantage is that they are less prone to complications such as blood clotting or immune rejection, especially if they are created using the patient’s own cells. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the I3 project aims to develop a novel bioreactor and combine it with MRI techniques for assessing TEHVs without the need for animal experiments. The generated living heart valve replacements will be particularly beneficial for young patients given their capacity for self-repair and growth
Objective
Given the escalating global burden of valvular heart disease and the pressing need for living heart valve replacements, I decided to focus my research on this healthcare challenge by acquiring new skills through advanced training and international interdisciplinary collaborations. My proposal I3 combines the design and application of a novel bioreactor for assessing tissue engineered heart valves (TEHVs) by highly advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to kickstart the innovation cycle in in-vitro experiments. Especially young patients with valvular heart disease will profit from TEHVs as they suffer from current heart valve replacements lacking the ability to self-repair and growth as well requiring the life-long intake of anticoagulants.
Leveraging the high-dimensional, non-invasive analysis potential of MRI, my I3 proposal establishes new innovative tools for TEHV research to enable new insights in the resulting hemodynamics downstream of TEHVs, close the optimization loop in-vitro using patient-specific boundary conditions and reduce the need for ethically and monetary challenging animal experiments.
Building on my expertise on advanced MRI, I will acquire new skills to develop a novel MRI-compatible bioreactor in the project. Enabling in-vitro experiments with high precision and repeatability, the imaged flow field in the bioreactor allows me to select and optimize a TEHV for specific hemodynamics of patients. In-vivo MRI-enabled feedback of the resulting hemodynamics offers further diagnosis. Furthermore, in-vitro and in-vivo measurements offer important information for optimization of TEHVs for patient-specific treatments.
I will use the knowledge and skills gained from this inter-sectoral and inter-disciplinary project for my next career steps (incl. submission of an ERC starting grant) in the field of biomedical engineering research aimed at providing all patients with a suitable heart valve replacement. I3 is a major step towards making this a reality.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
You need to log in or register to use this function
Keywords
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European FellowshipsCoordinator
38116 Braunschweig
Germany