3D printing complex microenvironments for next generation musculoskeletal organ-chips

Organ-chip models offer exciting opportunity to unlock discovery science and pre-clinical testing, by providing more human-relevant models of disease. However, the design of appropriate niche environments within models to maintain physiological or pathological cell phenotype and function is crucial for their success.

Here we focus on the design of appropriate niche environments to capture the tendon-bone junction. The tendon-bone interface is a common site of painful, debilitating injury, where a vicious cycle of inflammation, tissue remodelling and interface stiffening drives further degeneration. We currently have no clear treatments for injury at the tendon-bone interface, but models to unpick and thus modulate the interplay between inflammation and tissue stiffening offer exciting potential for new drug targets.

In this project, we will work with the BIONOVA X 3D bioprinter (supplied by industrial partner CELLINK), to select and optimise printable hydrogels and light patterning approaches, to capture the tendon-bone stiffness gradient, and to integrating growth factor gradients which capture the biological gradient between the tissues. We will drive inflammation within the model, then utilise printing approaches to modulate the tissue stiffness at the junction, and explore how this impacts injury progression, driving mechanistic understanding of disease progression and identifying potential treatment targets for tendon-bone injuries.

CELLINK’s focus is in developing approaches to bioprint within organ-chip platforms. They will provide technical expertise, supervision and a placement focused on optimising the printing approaches, and will also work with us to explore how we translate these to support the development of a range of different models.

This project is part of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Next Generation Organ on a Chip Technology (COaCT)

Who should apply?

We are looking for students who have an enthusiasm for organ-on-a-chip technologies, with a range of backgrounds including biology, biochemistry, genetics, materials science, biomedical engineering and other related subjects. Students should have some experimental background and enthusiasm for working in the laboratory. Applicants are not expected to have experience in all elements of this field; training will be provided as part of the PhD to support the development of important skills.

Application Process

Applications for this project are through the COaCT admissions process. Applicants are asked to make one application to the COaCT and list their project preferences from all project currently available as listed here: http://www.cpm.qmul.ac.uk/cdt/projects/projects2026open

The process is explained in detail here: http://www.cpm.qmul.ac.uk/cdt/applications/stepbystep