The goal of the International Foundation for Ethical Research (IFER) funded project is the development of a mature β-cell drug testing platform that will reduce the need for animal testing.
In this project, we seek to create an in vitro diabetes model, using organ-on-a-chip technology, to overcome the scientific and ethical limitations of using animal models for these studies. We will generate functional insulin-producing beta cells from induced pluripotent stem cells and mature them in vitro, circumventing the commonly used maturation process of implanting pancreatic progenitors into animal models, such as rodents. We will then incorporate the beta cells into a pancreas-on-a-chip, creating a human-relevant platform for drug testing, which will reduce the need for animal models for this condition.