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Ferrer-Alegre - 2026

Mentor: Marc Ferrer-Alegre | ferrerm@mail.nih.gov
Lab
3D Tissue Bioprinting Laboratory
NCATS

Biofabrication of Engineered 3D Tissues for Disease Modeling and Drug Discovery

Biofabrication of human tissues that accurately replicate the native architecture and physiology is a significant advancement for disease modeling and drug discovery. The hypothesis is that these physiologically relevant engineered 3D tissues, produced with human primary or iPSC-derived cells, will offer improved drug response clinical predictability compared to traditional 2D cellular models. The use of engineered tissues in drug discovery and development has the potential to reduce animal use while improving efficiency and reducing costs.

Tissue biofabrication for drug testing integrates advances in tissue engineering and cell biology for the assembly of functional human tissues in multiwell plate format. It uses five key technologies: (1) bioprinters with precise spatial control for reproducible 3D tissue geometries; (2) biocompatible hydrogels delivering controlled mechanical and chemical cues to support 3D cellular structures; (4) access to patient-derived cells, including human iPSCs; and (5) quantitative characterization methods using high-resolution fluorescence microscopy and image analysis.

The NCATS 3D Tissue Bioprinting Laboratory (3DTBL) uses these technologies to generate healthy and disease human tissues with native anatomical features, including vasculature and immune components. The laboratory bioprints the tissues in multiwell plate format, validates them using histology, fluorescence imaging and single-cell RNA sequencing, and develops quantitative assay readouts for drug screening.

Summer students work as integral team members within the NCATS 3DTBL, gaining experience with these technologies to develop tissue models and implement drug screens for therapeutic discovery. Current tissue models being developed in the laboratory include retina, skin, lung, skeletal and cardiac muscle, liver, placenta, and brain. This summer, the student will be assembling and conducting pharmacological testing with cardiac models to study drug induced cardiotoxicity.