Building a better liver in the lab

How can we study liver diseases and test new treatments when real liver cells are so difficult to mimic in the lab? During his PhD, Ibrahim Ardisasmita developed the so-called HeLLO’s, Hepatocyte-Like Liver Organoids, a new model that brings researchers closer to mimicking the human liver's most important cells. His journey led him from the lab to founding a startup, and now to a new chapter in cancer research. He successfully defended his thesis on February 9th, 2026. 

The liver is one of the body's hardest-working organs, removing toxins and maintaining the body's nutritional balance. Most of these vital functions are carried out by specialized cells called hepatocytes. “Because hepatocytes play diverse roles, they are also involved in many liver diseases, including inherited, metabolic, and cancer-related diseases,” Ibrahim explains. “Most of these diseases do not have effective therapies yet.” 

A liver cell that's hard to recreate

To study theses disease and develop cures, researchers need hepatocytes that can be grown in the laboratory. But there's a problem: hepatocytes are difficult to grow outside the human body. This makes it difficult to study liver diseases or test whether new treatments might harm the liver.
For years, researchers have used a workaround: growing a different type of liver cell called cholangiocytes, which normally line the bile ducts. These cells are much easier to expand in the laboratory and can be coaxed into taking on some hepatocyte-like characteristics. But Ibrahim wanted to know: how well do these transformed cells actually represent real hepatocytes?

Not quite liver cells

Already during his master's program, Ibrahim set out to find the best hepatocyte model out there. “At that time, I was not familiar at all with the field of liver in vitro modeling." He approached his now supervisor Sabine Fuchs, professor Metabolic Diseases and Innovative Therapies, to compare as many liver models as possible. "This study led us to an important realization: there is no single best model, as each has its own strengths and limitations. However, we also learned that the liver organoids at the time were still far from resembling hepatocytes and were much closer to cholangiocytes."

This discovery became the foundation of Ibrahim's PhD research. Using organoids, tiny 3D clusters of cells that mimic real organs, he compared cholangiocyte organoids to various hepatocyte models. As it turned out: the cholangiocyte organoids indeed only minimally resembled hepatocytes. Instead, they showed greater similarity to bile duct and intestinal cells. "Improving these cholangiocyte-like liver organoids to become more hepatocyte-like ultimately became the central focus of my PhD," he says.
 

Introducing HeLLO

Ibrahim's solution was to develop an entirely new model: HeLLO, or Hepatocyte-Like Liver Organoids. These organoids more closely mimic real hepatocytes. “We showed that HeLLOs perform various key hepatocyte functions and can accurately predict drug-induced liver injury.” This promised a critical step in making new medicines safer.
 

I never expected to start a company

An unexpected entrepreneurial journey

After developing the HeLLO’s, Ibrahim took an unexpected turn: he co-founded a startup called helloR&D together with fellow PhD candidate Indi Joore and supervisor Sabine Fuchs. "To be honest, I never expected to start a company when I started my PhD. I have always considered myself rather risk-averse, so the idea of creating a startup felt quite wild in the beginning," he admits. "But my co-founder Indi managed to convince me to take on the adventure. I have not regretted that decision for a single moment."

The journey began with filing a patent for the HeLLO liver model. After that, they participated in several competitions and training programs, winning several challenges along the way. "The experience was incredibly enriching: I learned a great deal and met many inspiring, generous, and kind people throughout the entrepreneurial journey," he reflects.

Though the company has since paused active operations, Ibrahim remains optimistic. "Currently, all three founders have stepped away from active helloR&D work. But the technology, the patent, and most importantly the enthusiasm are very much alive. So who knows, maybe this will be picked up again in the future."

Finding home in Utrecht

Ibrahim came to Utrecht originally just for his master's degree, but ended up staying much longer. "Utrecht is a wonderful city," he says. "I like that there is a strong Indonesian community in Utrecht, which makes me feel at home even though I am far from my home country."

What's next

After his PhD, Ibrahim continues his research journey as a postdoc at the Prinses Máxima Center. "Still in the liver field but shifting my focus more towards cancer research," he explains. "I have always been passionate about research, learning, and applying science to create real-world impact. Whatever the future holds, I hope to continue pursuing this passion and contributing meaningful discoveries."