Kang’s Organ on a Chip!

Hello everyone + Happy end of week 5! This program has been flying by.

I am happy to share Kang’s research project, which focuses on microfluidic devices – the “organ-on-a-chip.” I will try my best to summarize what I learned from his chalk talk 🙂

In vivo and in vitro approaches for studying tissues/cells have unique pros and cons. One advantage to studying cells in vivo over in vitro is that the researcher can study them in their natural, complex environments. However, the drawback is that many variables are more challenging to control. In vitro offers this experimental control but lacks the complex environment that in vivo methods provide.

Microfluidic devices are small plastic chips with channels that provide a 3D terrain for cell culture! They allow researchers to study cells in an environment more akin to the human body but still relatively controllable (ex: nutrient and fluid levels). These devices could be an intermediate approach incorporating the advantages of the in vivo and in vitro approaches. Kang’s project focuses on microfluidic devices for studying blood vessels in the cardiovascular system, and he tests different designs to see which protocol/device works best!