Problem statement: OrganVision envisions to shift the paradigm for organoids from disease or drug-screening models to observable tissue micro-bio-environment for unravelling key physiological and pathological processes in humans. We aspire to enable the exploitation of the most important feature of organoids – life, health, disease, and death unfolding in real-time at sub-cellular and inter-cellular scales in cells and tissues, respectively. Our ambition is to (a) overcome the central obstacle that prevents realization of the vision, namely lack of real-time high-resolution label-free imaging technology suitable for organoids, and (b) create new opportunities for organoid research and exploit them.
Importance to society: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) causes over 1.8 million deaths in EU each year (~37% of all deaths in the EU) and is estimated to cost the EU economy €210 billion a year . It is the leading cause of human deaths globally, and a high priority in the UN’s sustainable development goal no. 3 (good health and well-being). Understanding the mechanisms of CVDs and regenerative and repair potential definitely has a direct impact on the global cardiovascular health, potentially leading to better prevention, treatment, and cure of CVD. The technology platform will also be tested on cancer spheroids, therefore readying it for a big impact in the future. The technologies developed will serve the society and the globe by advancing understanding and resolving other diseases as well. Lastly, with better exploitation of organoids, the number of primary cells and tissues harvested from animals for biological studies will reduce. This will contribute to animal welfare.
The broad objectives of OrganVision are:
• Create a ground-breaking comprehensive science & technology platform that alters state-of-the-art across multiple disciplines by leaps, and thereby infusing new and promising R&D streams in each of them
• Redefine the possibilities for organoid research and its impact on finding new age solutions for diseases and supporting new knowledge discovery
• Create a lasting impact on global cardiovascular health
• Build a strong consortium of young research leaders
The scientific objectives of OrganVision are:
1. To develop a novel multi-scale imaging technology for real-time living tissue imaging
2. To develop a novel artificial intelligence engine that is able to model collective dynamics of life processes in organoid
3. To undertake biological studies for understanding cardiac toxicity, cell-cell interaction mechanisms and their impact on post-injury cardiac health, and changes in mitochondrial transfer and turnover in a cardiac injury setting
