EU - EUROoC - Interdisziplinäres Trainingsnetzwerk für die Organ-on-chip Technologie

EUROoC sets out to create a trans-European network of industrially oriented specialists fully trained in development and application of the emerging Organ-on-chip (OoC) technology. OoC is advancing at breath taking pace due to its potential impact in drug development and personalised treatment. New researchers entering this field must be equipped with an interdisciplinary background ranging from biology to microfluidic chip engineering. EUROoC will offer the first complete and coherent European training program on OoC by gathering multidisciplinary participants (biologists, physicists, chemists, engineers) and creating a multi-sectoral network composed of 3 SMEs, 1 industrial partner, 2 regulation entities and 10 academic institutions. EUROoC will qualify the next generation of interdisciplinary scientists for all aspects of OoC development and utilisation, including understanding of commercialisation pathways and regulatory aspects. EUROoC furthermore comprises a collection of innovative research projects addressing the development of advanced OoC systems with higher physiological significance going beyond current state of art in in vitro testing. The EUROoC project will elaborate advanced OoC systems, which closely recapitulate the in vivo properties of the respective organ tissues with regards to cell types, microenvironment, organ-specific tissue structure and function. The various OoC models to be developed span from heart-on-chip, bone-on-chip, retina-on-chip, lung-on-chip, white adipose tissue-on-chip, gut-on-chip to liver-on-chip. These OoC systems will able to monitor and analyse tissue functionality and response by integration of various novel sensing elements. Individual organ units will be interconnected and pre-validated using in vitro/in vivo correlation. The suggested research and training program aims to sustainably increase the European competitiveness in this emerging key technology.