The aim of this PhD project is to advance the understanding of the glomerular-tubular interaction within the kidney by employing advanced in vitro systems.

In a first instance, the inherent cellular and topographical complexity of the glomerulus and proximal tubule will be addressed by the association of representative contributing cells cultured on topographies obtained via biofabrication techniques (melt electrospinning writing, MEW). The optimized conditions will be translated into independent perfusable, microfluidic units that will depict the blood and ultrafiltrate compartments and exhibit functionalities specific to each compartment.

In the second part, we will focus on the physical and functional connection of the glomerulus and proximal tubule units

Addressing impaired bone formation of MSCs under exposure to uremic toxins and evaluate bone quality and quantity.

Extrussion bioprinting of collagen-based bioinks for bone tissue engineering (FRESH), Jos Malda lab, RMCU, Utrecht

Digital light printing for kidney (glomerular) tissue engineering, Shrike Zhang lab, Harvard MS, Boston