Transforming Transplant: An Organ Transplant Innovation Collaboration
Organ transplantation is one of the greatest achievements in the history of medicine, and enormous progress has been made in improving organ transplant outcomes over the last three decades. Short-and long-term clinical results are excellent, leading to reduced morbidity and mortality and improved quality of life when compared with patients who cannot receive a new organ. Unfortunately, there is an immense shortage in the number of donated organs available to those with chronic organ failure.
To address a growing organ transplantation need, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and Mayo Clinic will collaborate to accelerate the translation of biomedical discovery to clinical practice. The intent is to address the shortcomings of today’s organ transplant clinical practice using biomedical engineering solutions to better serve patients. Ultimately, the goal is to turn validated science into clinical options for patients with organ dysfunction or failure who are in critical need of organ transplantation.
Pioneering faculty from both institutions will bioengineer innovative approaches to address current barriers in organ transplantation via a three-year research agreement.
Key goals are to:
- Develop methods for engineering new organs, using new stem cell, bioprinting, and tissue scaffolding technologies.
- Restore the function of donated organs that are currently considered unusable.
- Delay or prevent chronic graft failure in patients who have previously received organ transplants.
- Diagnose organ dysfunction at earlier stages of the disease process and develop therapeutic interventions to prevent end-stage organ failure.
To achieve these goals, four working groups have outlined collaborative research projects for the initiative. Their focus areas include:
- Organ and tissue biofabrication
- Restoration of previously unusable donated organs
- Prevention and diagnosis of transplanted organ dysfunction using sensors
- Prevention and diagnosis of transplanted organ dysfunction using artificial intelligence
About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic’s nationally recognized organ transplant programs have been providing high-quality patient care for over 50 years. Across three major campuses in Florida, Minnesota, and Arizona, Mayo Clinic is currently the largest organ transplant provider in the United States.
At all campuses, there are also established regenerative medicine programs with advanced infrastructure in biomanufacturing and broad expertise in regenerative medicine products including induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). This leads to a unique environment of collaboration between transplant clinicians and regenerative medicine scientists. This enables scientific discoveries to be efficiently translated into its patient-centered, progressive transplant practice. This connection, in turn, will accelerate innovative approaches for organ dysfunction, failure and transplantation spectrum.
About CMU Biomedical Engineering
CMU Biomedical Engineering has established strengths in tissue engineering, particularly 3D biofabrication and bioprinting; extracellular vesicle engineering; computational organ modeling and design; extracellular matrix biology and engineering; biomaterials; stem cell engineering; cellular biomechanics; and translational organs testing. All of these areas are housed under CMU’s Bioengineered Organs Initiative.
Leveraging this expertise, CMU is using the classroom and laboratory to develop the future workforce that can innovate, commercialize, and manufacture new organ designs and fabrication methods.
For more information regarding Transforming Transplant, including how to contribute to this effort, please contact either the CMU Department of Biomedical Engineering or Mayo Clinic Florida Transplant Center.