|
|
Questions
The broad objective of this meeting will be to illuminate potential transformative research in the area of functional in vitro models—to distinguish between incremental progress and work that will truly disrupt current paradigms, or create new ones where none exist. To that end the following questions may serve as a guide to key issues such as 1) defining the need, 2) describing “paradigm disruption”, 3) delimiting interoperability of the proposed systems, and 4) quantifying success of a complex, ambitious effort. Additional questions address background issues that might need to be explored to further define the state of the art and establish feasibility.
Questions for Discussion
- What specific questions can be best answered by 3-D tissue models? What issues require a 3-D tissue model and for which none exists? What are the key advantages of such an approach?
- What would distinguish a transformative 3-D model from 3-D models that are currently being developed? If such a model is developed, what would be the impact on the community studying that organ/system?
- What design principles and functional features accommodate/promote communication and reciprocal control between the different components of multi-tissue systems (e.g. vascularised and innervated bone, in vitro wound healing models containing active immune system and vasculature components, on-board, non-invasive monitoring, etc.)? Can such considerations be generalized to develop platforms that are broadly interoperable across a variety of tissue types?
- What considerations will be important for optimizing functional validation strategies for in vitro systems so that they mirror their in vivo counterparts? What are the limitations?
Relevant Background Considerations
- Define “common building blocks” and provide examples. If such infrastructural components don’t exist, what are their ideal features?
- Which building blocks can be realistically combined, and to what level of complexity?
- Outline the features of the most mature system(s) (e.g. liver, skin, breast). What functionalities are needed to move these systems forward?
- What special considerations are needed to construct in vitro tissue models as high-throughput platforms?
Up to Top
|
