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- Update Date:2024-07-03
- Units:Office of International Promotion and Outreach
Persistence is the Key to Success: NYCU Professor Guan-Yu Chen’s Bionic Lung-On-A-Chip Research Journey
Professor Guan-Yu Chen of NYCU leads pioneering research in bionic organ-on-a-chips (OoCs), combining biomedical research with BioICT.
(Photo from Hao-Yun Peng and Zong-Han Lyu / ZDunemployed studio)
(Photo from Hao-Yun Peng and Zong-Han Lyu / ZDunemployed studio)
By NYCU Elite
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Professor Guan-Yu Chen, from the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU), is at the forefront of research in the field of bionic organ-on-a-chips (OoCs). This innovative work combines biomedical research with semiconductor and Information and Communication Technology, known as BioICT. Prof. Chen has successfully developed a bionic lung-on-a-chip system replicating the human body’s microenvironment. His efforts have garnered media recognition, earning him the reputation of being “a pioneer in organ-on-chip (OoC) technology.” Prof. Chen has expressed his hope that Taiwan’s contributions to this field will receive global attention.
In 2023, Prof. Chen received multiple awards, including the Moderna Taiwan mRNA Innovation Awards. He was also honored with the Awarded Lush Prize Young Researcher Award-Asia and was elected as the candidate for the Lush Prize “Fighting Animal Testing” alongside Emulate, a leading OoC company this year (2024), suggesting that not only Prof. Chen’s groundbreaking research in bionic lung-on-a-chip technology but also Taiwan’s international leadership in OoC research.
Bionic OoCs involve growing human cells on microfluidic channel chips and replicating the complex microphysiological changes in the human body using a dynamic circulatory system. By leveraging bionic organ-on-a-chip (OoC) technology to emulate pathological conditions for conducting various drug trials, it is possible to significantly lessen the reliance on animal testing during clinical phases, leading to reduce the cost and time required. “This is a destructive innovation,” emphasized Prof. Chen. Bionic lung-on-a-chip, the most mature technology developed by Prof. Chen’s team, can mimic human lung tissue in the human body and the response to the inhalation test through the “aerosol dynamic mode,” assisting researchers in evaluating data for the solubility of the inhaled drugs, organs analysis, etc.
During his tenure as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in 2015, Prof. Chen received an academic offer from the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at the College of Electrical and Computer Engineering of NYCU. Despite numerous other opportunities, Prof. Chen chose to bring back what he had learned in the U.S., the most novel technology, to Taiwan. With his academic background spanning chemical engineering, biology, and biomedical science, along with an unrestricted approach to himself, Prof. Chen aligns perfectly with the open and autonomous research environment and the abundant interdisciplinary resources at NYCU, providing him with a solid foundation to venture into the then-nascent field of OoC technology in Taiwan, demonstrating remarkable courage and ambition.
In 2021, Anivance AI was officially teamed under Prof. Chen’s leadership. The core concept is composed of three words, “Animal,” “Advanced,” and “AI,” representing the mission of the team. Therefore, in early 2024, the team transitioned into a technological start-up company with the goal of building a complete and profitable industrial ecosystem for processing, standardization, and validation of the bionic OoCs.
In 2023, Prof. Chen received multiple awards, including the Moderna Taiwan mRNA Innovation Awards. He was also honored with the Awarded Lush Prize Young Researcher Award-Asia and was elected as the candidate for the Lush Prize “Fighting Animal Testing” alongside Emulate, a leading OoC company this year (2024), suggesting that not only Prof. Chen’s groundbreaking research in bionic lung-on-a-chip technology but also Taiwan’s international leadership in OoC research.
Bionic OoCs involve growing human cells on microfluidic channel chips and replicating the complex microphysiological changes in the human body using a dynamic circulatory system. By leveraging bionic organ-on-a-chip (OoC) technology to emulate pathological conditions for conducting various drug trials, it is possible to significantly lessen the reliance on animal testing during clinical phases, leading to reduce the cost and time required. “This is a destructive innovation,” emphasized Prof. Chen. Bionic lung-on-a-chip, the most mature technology developed by Prof. Chen’s team, can mimic human lung tissue in the human body and the response to the inhalation test through the “aerosol dynamic mode,” assisting researchers in evaluating data for the solubility of the inhaled drugs, organs analysis, etc.
During his tenure as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in 2015, Prof. Chen received an academic offer from the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at the College of Electrical and Computer Engineering of NYCU. Despite numerous other opportunities, Prof. Chen chose to bring back what he had learned in the U.S., the most novel technology, to Taiwan. With his academic background spanning chemical engineering, biology, and biomedical science, along with an unrestricted approach to himself, Prof. Chen aligns perfectly with the open and autonomous research environment and the abundant interdisciplinary resources at NYCU, providing him with a solid foundation to venture into the then-nascent field of OoC technology in Taiwan, demonstrating remarkable courage and ambition.
In 2021, Anivance AI was officially teamed under Prof. Chen’s leadership. The core concept is composed of three words, “Animal,” “Advanced,” and “AI,” representing the mission of the team. Therefore, in early 2024, the team transitioned into a technological start-up company with the goal of building a complete and profitable industrial ecosystem for processing, standardization, and validation of the bionic OoCs.
Bionic organ-on-chips (OoCs) are considered “Compassion technology” as they preserve animal welfare, enhance precision medicine, and reduce patient risks by leveraging big data and AI to streamline drug development and minimize animal testing. (Photo from ZDunemployed studio)
Some consider bionic OoCs to be a “Compassion technology.” For this statement, Prof. Chen believes that the OoCs can not only assist in preserving animal welfare but also advance precision medicine and show mercy to human life. Using the example of lungs, drug research often used mice and rats as test subjects, with up to 100 million of these animals used in experiments each year. Nevertheless, mice have a respiratory rate five to seven times higher than humans, and their pulmonary immune system functions differently from that of humans. For this reason, many drugs that showed promise in animal experiments failed in human clinical trials, with a failure rate of up to 90 percent. As the development of the bionic lung-on-a-chip becomes more mature, with the combination of technology such as big data and AI, researchers can streamline their development schedules, accelerate the research and development of new drugs, and simultaneously reduce potential risks for patients.
Some consider bionic OoCs to be a “Compassion technology.” For this statement, Prof. Chen believes that the OoCs can not only assist in preserving animal welfare but also advance precision medicine and show mercy to human life. Using the example of lungs, drug research often used mice and rats as test subjects, with up to 100 million of these animals used in experiments each year. Nevertheless, mice have a respiratory rate five to seven times higher than humans, and their pulmonary immune system functions differently from that of humans. For this reason, many drugs that showed promise in animal experiments failed in human clinical trials, with a failure rate of up to 90 percent. As the development of the bionic lung-on-a-chip becomes more mature, with the combination of technology such as big data and AI, researchers can streamline their development schedules, accelerate the research and development of new drugs, and simultaneously reduce potential risks for patients.
Ten years ago, Prof. Chen made the strategic decision to focus on bionic lung-on-a-chip in order to get ahead in the field. At that time, research in OoC technology, including tumor chips, hearts, gastrointestinal tracts, livers, and nerves, was thriving in the U.S. and Europe, but lung-on-a-chip research needed to receive more attention. “By establishing a leading figure in the global lung-on-a-chip field, our team and Taiwan would naturally gain recognition worldwide,” Prof. Chen pointed out. This prospective decision now appears to be exactly right. Today, Prof. Chen has become the cream of the crop and is at the forefront of the bionic lung-on-a-chip field, attracting attention in Taiwan and internationally.
Indeed, devoting to start-up research is not always plain sailing. However, the team calmly confronts failure, extracting critical technology and experience from it, strengthening their foundation. Prof. Chen believes that “Actions speak louder than words.” and that being equipped with actual capability is essential. The team has collaborated with nearly ten medical and research institutes at home and aboard, including Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF), Molecular Devices, Moderna Taiwan, and Taichung Veterans General Hospital, and continuously optimized their collaboration mode. Customized solutions will be available whenever the pharmaceutical companies list their needs online. “When we validate our results in different places, we begin to validate our success,” Prof. Chen explains.
How will the next generation organ-on-a-chips (OoCs) develop?
Prof. Chen asserts that the value of the future organ-on-a-chips (OoCs) not only lies in whether the chip can stimulate the body environment to get the same test result as in the human body but, more importantly, by continuously expanding the data quantity, it can integrate with semiconductor sensing and AI technology to provide the pharmaceutical companies with more precise drug treatment and development strategy. By analyzing high-content images with algorithms to promptly detect changes in organs and pairing this with personal wearable devices, everyone may have their exclusive organ database in the future.
Prof. Chen indicates that the team plans to roll out the 3rd generation bionic lung-on-a-chips at the end of this year, and its accuracy is up to 85%. The team dares to announce that 80% of the organ chips module for respiratory diseases will be completed by the end of 2030. “If our technology can cover 80% of the study scope, it means that every team worldwide working on respiratory drug development will, in some way, need us.” Prof. Chen said with full confidence.
What is the most important thing to devote to start-up research?
Prof. Chen revealed confidence in his eyes and said, “People matter most.” He replied that it is because he is fortunate to be able to utilize his strengths in NYCU, where there are many talents from diverse fields such as biomedical, information, electronics, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, medicine, etc., as well as the university’s encouragement of industry-academia cooperation and investment in the start-up fields, which allows him to stand the steadiest and look the furthest in his field. With such perfect timing, location, supportive people, and efforts, one must believe that his development blueprints will be realized one after one in the near future.
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