Biology Webinar | From Chips to Clinic: Translating Organ-on-a-Chip Innovations Into Real-World Impact

Principal Scientist, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University;
Dr Girija Goyal is an immunologist working with the organ-on-chip and diagnostics platforms to design better in vitro models of the human immune system to develop new immunotherapeutics and derisk vaccines. Her research has reached the real world, as these in vitro models are now used at pharmaceutical companies and academic centers. Recently, she secured a prestigious Spark contract from ARPA-H Women’s Health Sprint to advance injected lymphoid organs as therapy for ovarian cancer. At the Wyss Institute, Girija also manages organ-on-chip programs on diseases that affect the human intestine, lung, and female reproductive tract.

SciBer Ltd, England, UK;
Dr Sasha Berdichevski is a biomedical scientist and founder of SciBer Ltd, a consultancy supporting the adoption of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) through strategic business development and scientific expertise. She is currently Head of Innovation and Business Development at Mepsgen (UK and Europe), driving the adoption of organ-on-a-chip technologies to transform drug development and translational research. Previously, she was Principal Team Lead at Emulate, Inc., where she managed customer relationships, global partnerships, and programs for the validation and adoption of organ-on-chip platforms across academia, pharma, biotech, government, and regulatory sectors. She earned a PhD at the Technion, Israel, where she developed imaging methodologies to study host responses to biodegradable implants and designed injectable micro-carriers for cardiac muscle regeneration.

Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, UK;
Dr Holloway has a background incorporating both neurovascular biology and microfluidic engineering. His PhD at Imperial College London and postdoctoral position at Louisiana State University focused on novel therapeutic approaches to modulate immune cell trafficking in the cerebral microcirculation following stroke. Following a postdoctoral position at the Centre for Hybrid Biodevices, University of Southampton, developing microfluidic neuronal models, Dr Holloway moved to the University of Oxford on a Royal Commission of 1851 Research Fellowship to develop an organ-on-a-chip model of the neurovascular unit. He is now leading the Microfluidic Neurological Models Lab at Oxford and working with the Leducq Foundation Circadian Network to introduce circadian rhythms into microfluidic in vitro models of stroke and neurovascular function.