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TISuMR 1: Symposium On Tissue Culture and Magnetic Resonance

24-27 September 2017

Please join us for the first TISuMR Symposium on Tissue Culture and Magnetic Resonance!
If you are interested in attending please contact us at tisumr@soton.ac.uk

The culture of tissue under controlled conditions holds great promise for the future of medicine and the life sciences in general. While the study of cells provides detailed insight into biological processes at the molecular and supra-molecular scale, understanding many disease processes requires a more systemic approach.

Culture of tissues, either from organ samples or grown entirely in vitro, can provide insight at the organ system level, revealing not only the function of individual cell types, but also their interaction with each other as well as with the extracellular matrix.

Combining advanced microfluidic lab-on-a-chip approaches to tissue culture with non-invasive, in-situ NMR investigation of life processes is the central theme of the TISuMR project. This symposium will bring together clinical experts on liver pathology, researchers working on microfluidic tissue culture, and scientists developing novel magnetic resonance techniques, with the following aims:

exchange ideas across discipline boundaries
discuss opportunities and challenges in the field
establish the potential of the TISuMR approach for developing liver disease models
foster mutual understanding between the biomedical and technical aspects of the project

The technical program will feature a number of leading scientists in the fields of hepatology, microfluidic technology, and magnetic resonance as keynote speakers. In addition, members of the TISuMR team will present their projects and early results.

Ample free time will be provided for off-line discussions, socialising, and exploring the environment. The Marwell Hotel, located in a beautiful corner of rural Hampshire, features a spa, health club, and a pool. The Marwell Zoo is only a few steps away, and there are many opportunities for leisurely walks in the countryside of the South Downs.

Confirmed speakers can be found here

Erwin Fuhrer

Erwin Fuhrer received his BSc degree (2010) in Physical Engineering from the University of Applied Sciences in Ravensburg-Weingarten, Germany and his MSc degree (2012) in Microsystems Engineering from the University of Freiburg, Germany. His MSc thesis focused on the development of a miniaturized parahydrogen converter for applications towards in situ NMR hyperpolarization. In 2013 he began his graduate studies under the guidance of Prof. Jan Korvink in the field of novel sensor developments for NMR/MRI applications. In 2015, he joined the Institute of Microstructure Technology (IMT) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe. His current research interests lay in the domain of customized, application specific NMR/MRI hardware, with a particular focus on sensor interface technology. Erwin Fuhrer’s contribution to the TISuMR project will be the design and fabrication of the custom interface technology including integrated sample handling for NMR/MRI measurements.

Dr Dario Mager

Dario Mager studied MicroElectroMechanicalSystems (MEMS) at the University of Freiburg, where in 2004 he did his diploma thesis about the simulation of Geometry Dependent Sensitivity of Piezoresistive Stress Sensors in the group of Oliver Paul. He then joined the Group of Jan Korvink to build up an inkjet manufacturing lab. In 2010 he received his PhD in the Topic of Microstructuring using Inkjet Printing, were among other applications he showed the advantages of inkjet printing for manufacturing of geometrically precise complex shaped MR coils.
As a Postdoctoral Research Associate he stayed in the Group of Jan Kovink at the University of Freiburg which moved in 2015 to the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Since obtaining his PhD he build up a lowcost-MEMS Group that that focuses on MEMS that is fabricated without a conventional cleanroom. His research interests include inkjet based micromanufacturing of MR sensors, intelligent system design based on embedded electronics with a focus on Lab-on-a-Disk based point of care diagnostics.
5 most relevant publications:

1. S. M. Torres Delgado, D. Kinahan, F. S. Sandoval, L. A. Julius, N. A. Kilcawley, J. Ducrée, and D. Mager, “Fully automated chemiluminescence detection using the electrified-Lab-on-a-Disc (eLoaD) platform,” Lab Chip, vol. 16, no. 20, pp. 4002–4011, 2016.
2. J. Höfflin, S.M. Torres Delgado, F. Suarez Sandoval, J.G. Korvink, D. Mager. Electrifying the disk. Lab on a Chip 15, 2584 (2015).
3. D. Mager, A. Peter, L. Del Tin, E. Fischer, P.J. Smith, J. Hennig, J.G. Korvink. An MRI Receiver Coil Produced by Inkjet Printing Directly on to a Flexible Substrate. Medical Imaging, EEE Trans Med Imaging 29, 2, 482 (2010).
4. D. Stüwe, D. Mager, D. Biro, J.G. Korvink. Inkjet Technology for Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaics. Advanced Materials 27, 4, 599 (2014).
5. N. Spengler, J. Höfflin, A. Moazenzadeh, D. Mager, N. MacKinnon, V. Badilita, U. Wallrabe, and J. G. Korvink, Heteronuclear Micro-Helmholtz Coil Facilitates μm-Range Spatial and Sub-Hz Spectral Resolution NMR of nL-Volume Samples on Customisable Microfluidic Chips, PLoS ONE, e0146384, 2016.

TISuMR: FETOPEN Project Selected for Funding

TISuMR is a collaboration project between three leading research groups at the University of Southampton, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, and the University of Groningen.

TISuMR takes a novel approach towards a systemic understanding of liver function and disease based on integrated tissue slice culture and nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomics.

The project has been selected for funding in the 2016/2017 round of the Horizon 2020 research programme of the European Commission, as part of the highly prestigious “Future and Emerging Technologies” (FETOPEN) call. The detailed work programme is currently being negotiated between the partner institutions and the EU commission; research work is expected to start in January 2017.

TISuMR combines ground-breaking technology in NMR detection of small systems with cutting-edge microfluidic lab-on-a-chip devices in order to culture live slices of liver tissue, while continuously monitoring biological and biochemical processes in the tissue with unprecedented detail.

This revolutionary approach will provide novel insights into the functioning of the liver, and the interplay between its various cell types. It will allow us to study the progression of liver damage due to disease, as well as the effect of drugs on the tissue.

Ultimately, TISuMR will provide a novel platform to study tissues as biological systems, while providing unprecedented insight into their inner workings. Life science research will benefit from this on a broad range of fronts, including the development and testing of new drugs, as well as the study of cancer and other important diseases.