Application:
- Human aging is a major driver of chronic diseases, including fatty liver disease, neurodegeneration, cardiac dysfunction, and metabolic disorders
- Animal models poorly predict human aging due to species-specific differences in metabolism, genetics, and lifespan
- Human aging unfolds over decades, making it difficult to track dynamic aging processes or validate therapeutic interventions
- High clinical attrition rates highlight the need for predictive, human-relevant aging platforms
Our innovation:
- Accelerated Microphysiological Aging (AMPSA) platform that induces key biological and functional features of elderly human tissues within ~70 days
- Human liver, heart, and brain organoids aged in vitro by mimicking the endocrine and metabolic environment of old age
- Sensor-embedded organoids enable continuous, real-time monitoring of metabolic and functional changes during aging
- Robotic organoid handling allows standardized, high-throughput production and screening of thousands of organoids
- Platform supports genetic perturbation studies, linking aging-related genes to functional tissue-level outcomes
Advantages:
- Human-relevant aging biology, overcoming key limitations of rodent models
- Time-compressed aging, transforming decades-long processes into weeks
- Longitudinal, real-time metabolic readouts, rather than static endpoint assays
- Multi-organ capability, enabling parallel assessment of liver, heart, and brain aging
- Scalable and high-throughput, suitable for drug discovery and genetic screening
- Demonstrated induction of hallmarks of aging, including:
- Mitochondrial dysfunction
- Insulin resistance
- Cellular senescence
- Fibrosis, steatosis, and neurodegeneration-associated phenotypes
Opportunity:
We are seeking collaboration with pharmaceutical, biotech, and technology companies developing therapies, discovery platforms, or tools for aging and age-related diseases, to:
- Evaluate therapeutic candidates in aged human tissues
- Identify and validate aging biomarkers
- Discover genetic and metabolic drivers of human aging
- Reduce reliance on animal models in aging research
Contact in Yissum: Ariela Markel
