Stefan has over 25 years experience in cell biology with specific interests in cell culture technology and bioengineering human tissues for in vitro applications. He has developed a multi-disciplinary approach to the bioengineering of tissue equivalents through creating bespoke devices and new cell culture platforms. Stefan holds an academic position as Professor in Cell Technology at Durham University. He is also a founder and the Chief Scientific Officer of Reprocell Europe, Glasgow, a biotechnology company that acquired cell technology he developed at Durham University UK. Stefan’s research continues to develop new innovative approaches to manage the growth and function of cultured cells in ways that more accurately reflect native tissues. These human tissue models have multiple applications and will be particularly relevant to modelling human disease, and advance basic research, safety screening and drug discovery.

Stefan has over 25 years experience in cell biology with specific interests in cell culture technology and bioengineering human tissues for in vitro applications. He has developed a multi-disciplinary approach to the bioengineering of tissue equivalents through creating bespoke devices and new cell culture platforms. Stefan holds an academic position as Professor in Cell Technology at Durham University. He is also a founder and the Chief Scientific Officer of Reprocell Europe, Glasgow, a biotechnology company that acquired cell technology he developed at Durham University UK. Stefan’s research continues to develop new innovative approaches to manage the growth and function of cultured cells in ways that more accurately reflect native tissues. These human tissue models have multiple applications and will be particularly relevant to modelling human disease, and advance basic research, safety screening and drug discovery.

Stephen J. Fey has a background in biomedical science having worked in research universities and companies for the past 30 years. He qualified for his PhD at Kings College, London University. He became a pioneer in 2D gel electrophoresis field and used this tool to study cervical cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular problems. He co-founded the Centre for Proteome Analysis at the University of Southern Denmark in 1997 (the world’s first purpose-built proteomics institute) and became CEO when the institute was spun out of SDU in 2006. Subsequently, he co-founded CelVivo in 2014, another spin out company, developing and commercialising 3D cell and tissue culture systems which mimic in vivo physiology and toxicology. He has 125 publications and has filed 37 patents.

Before graduating from Politecnico of Milan (Italy) with a MSc Honours degree in Biomedical Engineering, Lisa joined the laboratory of Liver Engineering of Dr. Urbani, in collaboration with King’s College and UCL (London, UK): her work was focused on the development of bioreactor systems able to support the generation of humanized 3D bioengineered liver tissues, recapitulating features of liver fibrosis. Working in the field of tissue engineering, exposed Lisa to a multidisciplinary approach, on one hand gaining knowledge of traditional engineer skills, such as developing processes suitable for Good Manufacturing Procedures (GMP), automation and computer-aided design software (SolidWorks), on the other hand cell and molecular biology. Her current role in Engitix is Scientist, part of the Biomaterial Development team, where she is focused on the development of a portfolio of programmes in fibrosis and solid tumours using the proprietary human extracellular matrix (ECM)-based discovery platform to identify new targets, determine mechanisms of action, and increase the success rate of therapeutic candidates.

Darren received his PhD in Neurobiology from the University of Bristol in 2003. His research was focused on investigating the involvement of signaling pathways involved in mediating neuronal cell death. Currently, as a Product Manager at Promega UK, Darren manages the cell health portfolio and has a particular interest in tools to monitor 3D cell health. With the demand for more physiologically relevant models comes a need for more accurate and sensitive cell-based assays that can deliver reliable results in more complex 3D microtissues. Darren works to support customers who wish investigate cell health in both 2D and 3D cultures.

Hansjoerg Keller is a Senior Principal Scientist in the Musculoskeletal Disease Area at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research in Basel, Switzerland.
He studied Biochemistry and graduated in Neurochemistry at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETHZ), Switzerland in 1988. During his postdoctoral fellowship at the Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA (Prof. J. Gottesfeld) and later at the University of Lausanne (Prof. W. Wahli), he elucidated the role of transcription factors in the regulation of gene transcription discovering PPAR nuclear receptors and their activation by fatty acids. In 1996, he joined Novartis leading different drug discovery projects including selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) and sclerostin inhibitors for osteoporosis treatment, and selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) against muscle wasting. His current research focuses on exercise-regulated myokines as new drug targets for the development of novel therapies against muscle wasting diseases. To this end, his group is pioneering 3D bioprinting technologies for the engineering of functional human skeletal muscle tissue models that allow in vitro screening of compounds affecting muscle function such as force, endurance and fatigue.
 

Dr. Suzanne Fitzpatrick is the Senior Advisor for Toxicology at the US Food and Drug Administration. She is a board-certified toxicologist in the US and in Europe Dr. Fitzpatrick chairs the FDA’s Alternative Methods Work Group that is currently focusing on in vitro Microphysiological Systems. Dr. Fitzpatrick helped develop the FDA DARPA NCATS program on Organs on a Chip and continues to work and give presentations on this evolving area. Dr. Fitzpatrick is an Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins University. She received her BA from the University of California at San Diego and her PhD from Georgetown University.
 

BanuPriya was trained as a tissue engineer and worked with Biomaterials and stem cell spheroids for her PhD. After a brief stint at Medimmune she was trained in high throughput screening at the Scripps Research Institute in Florida where she worked with scaling iPSC-derived neurons and pancreatic organoids for HTS. Currently as an investigator at GSK, she works with different research units for -developing context-specific complex in vitro models. Specifically, she works with high throughput scalable platform for combinatorial drug screening in non-small cell lung cancer models and NASH disease modeling using liver-on-a-chip platforms.

Dr. Jason Ekert is Senior Director, GSK Fellow and Head of the Complex In Vitro Models (CIVM) group at GlaxoSmithKline. He is responsible for an integrated enterprise strategy for R&D applications of complex human-relevant and translatable complex in vitro models (eg Organoids, Microphysiological systems and bioprinting). Before joining GSK he worked at Janssen in biotherapeutic drug discovery. Jason received his PhD from Adelaide University. Post-doctoral training was performed at University of California, Davis and Coriell Institute for Medical Research. He’s currently the chair for the IQ-MPS affiliate. He is a member of the Society for Lab Automation and Screening (SLAS) and Society of Toxicology (SOT).

Robert received his PhD in Biochemistry from the Leiden University Medical Center on a molecular study of oncogenic transformation. He subsequently moved to Stanford University (USA) to do his Post Doc studying neural stem cells. Upon his return to the Netherlands he continued the study of adult stem cells in the group of Prof Hans Clevers at the Hubrecht Institute in The Netherlands.
In the group of Hans Clevers he was part of the team that developed the breakthrough technology that allowed the expansion of adult stem cells. The so-called Organoid Technology became the basis of the non-profit company ‘Hubrecht Organoid Technology’ (HUB) of which he is currently the CEO.
 

Freddy obtained his Ph.D. degree in Science at the Free University of Brussels (Belgium) in 1995. After his post-doc, he joined Janssen (Belgium) as a Study Director for In Vitro Genetic and Predictive toxicology. From 2003 to 2009, Freddy was the chairman of the Belgian Environmental Mutagen Society.
During his career, he was responsible for the identification and validation of new in vitro test systems to assess the safety profile of compounds in early drug development. Today, he’s heading the Cell Health Assessment group responsible for high throughput liability screening and the evaluation of advanced in vitro models.
 

Stefan has over 25 years experience in cell biology with specific interests in cell culture technology and bioengineering human tissues for in vitro applications. He has developed a multi-disciplinary approach to the bioengineering of tissue equivalents through creating bespoke devices and new cell culture platforms. Stefan holds an academic position as Professor in Cell Technology at Durham University. He is also a founder and the Chief Scientific Officer of Reprocell Europe, Glasgow, a biotechnology company that acquired cell technology he developed at Durham University UK. Stefan’s research continues to develop new innovative approaches to manage the growth and function of cultured cells in ways that more accurately reflect native tissues. These human tissue models have multiple applications and will be particularly relevant to modelling human disease, and advance basic research, safety screening and drug discovery.

I originally trained as a Medical Biochemist at the University of Birmingham (1986-1989). I worked as a Research Assistant in the Pharmacology and Toxicology Department at Imperial College, London where I received my PhD in the lab of Dr Sharon Hotchkiss. The main theme of the research project was “percutaneous absorption: metabolic and kinetic parameters”. In 1996, I transferred to The University of California, San Francisco, in the Dermatology Department; I spent 18 months there under the guidance of Prof. Howard Maibach. In 1998 I started a permanent position in the Institute of Toxicology at Merck KGaA in Germany, where I established the Molecular Toxicology Group. I am currently responsible for early cytotoxicity screening, hepatotoxicity methods, biomarker monitoring, CYP induction studies, genotoxicity testing and cytokine screening. Alongside the routine screening, and mechanistic assays, I am leading the Merck assessment of more advanced cell models for safety testing and potential animal replacement. I work with several PhD students, on external collaborative projects and I am team representative on several internal pharmaceutical projects.

Pedro Pinto is currently leading the research lab affiliated with the Urology clinic of the University Hospital – Greifswald. He previously developed work on the applications the microphysiological systems, with AstraZeneca after his doctoral studies in Pharmaceutical Sciences at Utrecht University. His expertise is centered around renal in vitro models for either drug testing and disease modelling and since 2021 his research group is focusing on the study of kidney and prostate cancer pathophysiology with the use of microphysiological systems.

Biography: Dr. Elisa Budyn is Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Ecole Normale Superieure de Paris-Saclay. She earnerd an Engineering diploma from E.S.T.P. in France and graduated her M.Sc. and Ph.D. from Northwestern University in 1999 and 2004. Dr. Budyn worked at CNRS LMSSMat Laboratory at Ecole Centrale Paris for one year, after which she joined the University of Illinois at Chicago Mechanical Engineering Department in 2005 as Assistant Professor and joined Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay in 2013 as Professor. Her research focuses on bioengineering and mechanobiology of human tissues thanks to the design and implementation of organ-on-chip that enable 3D culture mechanical testing and concurrent computational modeling of cells and tissues such as bone, heart, skin, ligament or liver. She investigates human cell mechanotransduction in in vitro recellularized native tissues in conditions closely mimicking in vivo conditions as test beds for potential patient screening or cells treatments. Her research has been funded by NSF, AFOSR, CNRS, ANR-RHU, Synchrotron SOLEIL and the Farman Institute.

I originally trained as a Medical Biochemist at the University of Birmingham (1986-1989). I worked as a Research Assistant in the Pharmacology and Toxicology Department at Imperial College, London where I received my PhD in the lab of Dr Sharon Hotchkiss. The main theme of the research project was “percutaneous absorption: metabolic and kinetic parameters”. In 1996, I transferred to The University of California, San Francisco, in the Dermatology Department; I spent 18 months there under the guidance of Prof. Howard Maibach. In 1998 I started a permanent position in the Institute of Toxicology at Merck KGaA in Germany, where I established the Molecular Toxicology Group. I am currently responsible for early cytotoxicity screening, hepatotoxicity methods, biomarker monitoring, CYP induction studies, genotoxicity testing and cytokine screening. Alongside the routine screening, and mechanistic assays, I am leading the Merck assessment of more advanced cell models for safety testing and potential animal replacement. I work with several PhD students, on external collaborative projects and I am team representative on several internal pharmaceutical projects.

Caroline Archer obtained her PhD in 2013 at the University of Cambridge investigating the molecular mechanisms required for the induction of cardiac hypertrophy. After a few years in the biotechnology industry, she joined AstraZeneca as part of the Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences department. Here, she has lead the development of a 3D cardiac microtissue model which is now utilised as a high-throughput front line safety screen. Caroline has a keen interest in the development of advanced in vitro cardiovascular models to help accelerate the replacement and reduction of animal studies in drug development.

Dr Cathy Vickers

Cathy is Head of Innovation at the National Centre for the Reduction, Refinement and Replacement of animals in research (NC3Rs). Cathy leads the CRACK IT Challenges programme- an open innovation funding programme that brings large industry, academia and the SME sector together to accelerate the development and delivery of novel tools and technologies that improve R&D and reduce the reliance on animal models. Cathy holds a PhD in Neurophysiology from the University of Edinburgh.
 

Dr. Louis Scampavia is a faculty member at Scripps Research within the Department of Molecular Medicine and a senior scientific director of High Throughput Screening (HTS). The Scripps Molecular uHTS Center is focused on drug discovery to support academic investigators and industrial partners, and its directors Drs. Louis Scampavia and Timothy Spicer leverage over four decades of biomedical research experience. Aside from performing large library uHTS screens, the directors also pursue technology development including the use of 3D cancer screening in high density 1536w plate format for precision medicine drug repurposing testing as well as uHTS drug discovery efforts.

Julian Bahr has been a Postdoctoral Fellow at AstraZeneca since 2018, where he is developing new 3D models for immunotherapy target discovery. His scientific training began at the National Institutes of Health under Dr. Susan Bates studying the mechanisms of HDAC and MAPK pathway inhibitors on KRAS mutant cancers. He went on to research macrophage-mediated basement membrane remodeling with Dr. Stephen Weiss for his Ph. D. work at the University of Michigan. Julian is passionate about elevating Ph.D. and Postdoctoral science and has continuously held leadership positions in the research organizations he has been a part of.

Dr. Van Vleet is currently the Director of Investigative Toxicology at AbbVie where he is responsible for Molecular and Computational Toxicology as well as In Vitro Platform Characterization for Preclinical Safety. He also serves as the discovery or development safety project representative on various drug development teams over diverse therapeutic areas. Prior to joining AbbVie, he worked at Bristol-Myers Squibb in positions of increasing responsibility including serving as the Head of Molecular and In Vitro Toxicology group. Dr. Van Vleet received his BS in Zoology (Chem minor) from Weber State University where he graduated summa cum laude. He received his PhD in Toxicology/Molecular Biology from Utah State University (graduating magna cum laude) where he studied the metabolism of procarcinogens by human airway cells. He later completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the Medical University of South Carolina studying mechanism of renal toxicity with a focus on mitochondrial toxicity. Terry is a member of the Society of Toxicology (SOT), American College of Toxicology, and Royal Society of Biology and has published over 40 peer reviewed scientific manuscripts. He is also a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology, and a Fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences. He is currently serving as the Past Chair of the IQ MPS Affiliate.

Dr. Anne Rios started her scientific career by developing and applying advanced imaging technologies to gain insight into developmental processes and stem cell biology (Nature 2011, Nature 2014). The Large-scale, Single-cell Resolution 3D (LSR-3D) imaging technology she developed allows for visualization of intact organs, tumors and organoids up to sub-cellular resolution and can reveal novel and unexpected features of both normal organ development and function, as well as cancer progression (Cancer Cell 2019, Nature Biotechnology 2021). As junior principal investigator and head of the imaging center at the Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology she combines her background in developmental biology and imaging expertise to drive discovery into the underlying mechanisms of childhood cancer and advance cellular immunotherapies for solid tumor targeting.

Photography credit: Photographer Barbara Kieboom (www.barbarakieboom.nl).

I originally trained as a Medical Biochemist at the University of Birmingham (1986-1989). I worked as a Research Assistant in the Pharmacology and Toxicology Department at Imperial College, London where I received my PhD in the lab of Dr Sharon Hotchkiss. The main theme of the research project was “percutaneous absorption: metabolic and kinetic parameters”. In 1996, I transferred to The University of California, San Francisco, in the Dermatology Department; I spent 18 months there under the guidance of Prof. Howard Maibach. In 1998 I started a permanent position in the Institute of Toxicology at Merck KGaA in Germany, where I established the Molecular Toxicology Group. I am currently responsible for early cytotoxicity screening, hepatotoxicity methods, biomarker monitoring, CYP induction studies, genotoxicity testing and cytokine screening. Alongside the routine screening, and mechanistic assays, I am leading the Merck assessment of more advanced cell models for safety testing and potential animal replacement. I work with several PhD students, on external collaborative projects and I am team representative on several internal pharmaceutical projects.