Studium Generale Lecture - Heart-on-Chip
Scientists are now able
to reprogram any cell of the human body into pluripotent stem
cells. This creates many possibilities for biomedical research
because these stem cells can be turned into many other cell types
sensitive to disease or drugs that are not normally accessible
through tissue donation. Christine Mummery
succeeded in growing these stem cells into heart- and vessels
'on-a-chip'. In this way she has shown medicines can be safely
tested outside the human body, opening up a world of personalized
medicine.
Prof. dr. Christine Mummery is professor of Developmental Biology and chair of the Department of Anatomy and Embryology at Leiden UMC and Professor Microfluidic Vascular Technology at the UT.