Models mimicking human infection

Leader: Andreas Hierlemann

Co-Leader: Petra Dittrich

Researchers: Julia Boos, Friederike Born, Odysseas Chaliotis, Alexandre Daeniker, Christoph Dehio, Tania Distler, Cinzia Fino, Han-Yi Huang, Urs Jenal, Petra Juskova, Marco Kuhn, Amogh Kumar, Amanzhol Kurmashev, Benoit Laventie, John McKinney, Frederic Normandeau, Alexandre Persat, Tamara Rossy, Kunal Sharma, Thomas Simonet, Isabel Sorg, Rosmarie Sütterlin, Leoni Swart, Lorenzo Tala, Vivek Thaker, Mehmet Ugur Girgin, Allessandra Vitale

WP-MOD aims to develop miniaturized patient-like in-vitro models for discovery and development of novel antimicrobials under relevant conditions. In this work package, we will focus on human mimetic models of lung, bladder, skin and inflammatory lesions at different levels of complexity. We will validate basic characteristics of these models and determine their suitability for studying infection by our focus pathogens (P. aeruginosa, E. coli, S. aureus, B. melitensis). Early information from patient samples (work within WP-CLN) will then be used as benchmarks for model prioritization. The most promising models will be miniaturized and optimized for throughput to facilitate screening applications, and connected to a pharmacokinetic (PK) module to enable pharmacodynamic (PD) studies. Clinical benchmarks (work within WP-CLN) will be used as guidance for iterative cycles of model refinement to better approximate relevant pathogen physiology. We will provide validated models with different levels of complexity for translational applications (work within WP-TRN).

The three main objectives are:

Objective 1: Select and validate available models for lung, skin, bladder, and granuloma

Objective 2: Miniaturize promising models for increased throughput and reduced costs

Objective 3: Refine miniaturized models based on guidance and benchmarks from WP-CLN