Organoids: Tiny organs shaping modern medicine

From neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s to cancers, infectious diseases, and rare genetic conditions, AIBN researchers are using organoids to transform our approach to addressing the world’s most serious health problems.

Rare diseases like epilepsy, leukodystrophies, Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia, Zika associated microcephaly, and Ataxia Telangiectasia could be a thing of the past, thanks to our world renowned organoid scientists. Using these ‘live models’ to diagnose and find treatments for these conditions, is putting the AIBN at the frontier of biomedical research and personalised medicine. 

Using cutting-edge technology, AIBN researchers design and grow organoids both for their own work and for labs across the country, coaxing pluripotent stem cells or tissue samples into 3D structures that mimic the function and complex architecture of real brains, livers, kidneys, spinal cords, and intestines.

Crucially, organoids could one day decrease the reliance for animal models in understanding and treating diseases, as they can be designed to replicate what is happening inside an individual patient, offering researchers a unique opportunity to study personalised responses to new treatments. 

This could shave years off the drug development process and - ultimately - the time between diagnosing a problem and delivering the solution.