CTSI May 2018 Newsletter

May 3, 2018

IU Researchers Using CTSI 3D Bioprinting Core to Study Organs

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Indiana CTSI e-newsletter content from May 2018

Indiana University School of Medicine scientist and transplant surgeon Burcin Ekser, MD, PhD, will boost his lab’s xenotransplantation, or cross-species transplantation, research program with a four-year, $9 million research agreement with Lung Biotechnology PBC.

Smith, Ekser and Li

IU School of Medicine researchers Lester Smith, PhD; Burcin Ekser, MD, PhD; and Ping Li, PhD. (Photo courtesy of IU School of Medicine)

According to the latest data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, there are more than 110,000 people in the United States waiting for a life-saving organ transplant, and each day, about 20 people die while waiting for a transplant.
Dr. Ekser and his team are working to improve the availability of organs by creating new organ models using the Indiana CTSI-designated 3D Bioprinting Core, located at the IU School of Medicine and IUPUI in Indianapolis. The researchers are printing 3D pig liver tissue from genetically engineered pig liver cells. Then, they use this 3D-printed tissue to develop new research models for xenotransplantation.
Lung Biotechnology PBC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of United Therapeutics Corporation. Lung Biotechnology is a Maryland-based company focused on organ transplantation technologies, including through xenotransplantation.
The 3D Bioprinting Core is led by founding director Nicanor Moldovan, PhD, and core manager Lester Smith, PhD. The 3D printer is one of only two of its kind at academic institutions in the United States.
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Caring for kids

Notre Dame researchers will use CTSI funding to assess early childhood needs in St. Joseph County to help inform future health prevention and intervention efforts.

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‘Key’ discovery

CTSI-supported researchers at Purdue have identified a molecule that may play an important role in unlocking the development of Parkinson’s disease.

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Rx for access

A study by CTSI-funded researchers at IU Bloomington reports that in Indiana, only one in four pharmacists have actually dispensed the opioid overdose reversal drug, naloxone.

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Honoring our own

Longtime Clinical Research Center (CRC) employee Sharon Cromer is retiring after nearly 30 years of distinguished service. A reception will be held June 21 in Indianapolis.

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Updates coming

Be on the look out for an updated design on the IndianaCTSI.org homepage, and a new name and look for our INresearch.org volunteer registry.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

View all upcoming events.

|2019-04-10T12:25:19-04:00May 3rd, 2018|Comments Off on CTSI May 2018 Newsletter

About the Author: James Dudley

James Dudley

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