The objective of the research is the development of a computer-controlled fully automated, miniaturized 3D midbrain-on-a-chip system containing embedded optical and electrical microsensors to re-create physiological-relevant (disease) models as e.g., Parkinson’s disease, the gut-brain axis as well as the blood-brain barrier. By non-invasively monitoring physiological parameters such as e.g., respiratory, metabolic, or electrophysiological activity, insight into fundamental aspects such as the tissue’s physiological/pathological status can be gained, providing a powerful tool in the context of phenotyping, personalized medicine, toxicological and pharmacological screenings. This project is conducted in cooperation with the University of Luxembourg and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The project sets out to elucidate the impact of mechanobiological stimulation on lymphatic uptake with organ-on-a-chip technology. In particular, molecule uptake, transport, and distribution between the blood and the lymphatic circulatory systems are investigated using an advanced chip-based microvascular model incorporating biomechanical cues. This project is conducted in cooperation with Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Experimental and Clinical Traumatology and Imperial College London.

The aim of this project is to establish a living tissue analog that resembles articular cartilage into a lab-on-a-chip system to analyze the interdependence of cellular reorganization and tissue function in the presence of a native-tissue-like biomechanical niche. A micromechanical cartilage-on-a-chip will be developed and used to study the impact of biomaterial stiffness and composition on tissue formation and other biomechanical factors (i.e., compression) on tissue maturation, function, regeneration, and repair. This project is conducted in cooperation with the Orthopedics Microsystems group of the Medical University of Vienna and a joint doctoral College with the UAS Technikum Wien.