To develop predictive on-chip models of bone healing, Mani Diba has been awarded a Hypatia Tenure Track Grant (1M€) at the Dept. of Dentistry of Radboud University Medical Center.
Traditional pathways towards development of bone regenerative biomaterials require extensive in vivo animal testing. Meanwhile, current in vitro methods fail to recapitulate the complexity of the in vivo environment with respect to both extracellular and cellular components. The funded project (BoneChipPredict) aims to design advanced in vitro models for bone defect healing that recapitulate both the dynamic viscoelastic nature of the extracellular matrix and the spatial heterogeneity of cells in bone. Ultimately, BoneChipPredict aims to deliver an alternative platform for evaluation of bone regenerative therapies, seeking to provide a new avenue for replacement of traditional animal testing in this area.
Hypatia Grant
The Hypatia Tenure Track Grants at Radboudumc aim to promote innovation in academic research by providing promising young researchers an opportunity to establish an independent research group in a specific topic.
