The human brain is an incredibly complex organ to study in its living tissue form. Researchers cannot experiment on human tissue directly, and animal models are often too different to human physiology to be effective.

For this reason, in the last decade, neurological research has been increasingly turning to “brain-on-a-chip” organoid models to give researchers living examples to demonstrate brain development, and how to effectively treat brain diseases and disorders. Organoids are grown out of stem cells into new cell clusters that mimic the structure of and features of a whole organ, such as the brain.

Co-principal investigator Megan McCain from the USC Viterbi Department of Biomedical Engineering will partner with fellow co-principal investigators Giorgia Quadrato and Leonardo Morsut in the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC on a four year, $1.5m NSF-funded project to vastly improve the process of developing brain organoids. The project aims to make the end products more consistent and reliable as tools for brain researchers.

To read more, visit https://viterbischool.usc.edu/news/2020/11/brain-development-and-disorder-research-receives-1-5-million-nsf-boost.