Lab-grown 'virtual humans' to predict how chemicals affect people
Official title: An integrated MPS platform with "virtual humans" for chemical toxicity testing
Funded at Lena Biosciences, INC. · NIH-11175514 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project builds mini human organs from diverse donors to spot who might be harmed by everyday chemicals and drugs.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Sbir 2 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Lena Biosciences, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Atlanta, United States) |
| Project start | August 22, 2024 |
| Project end | July 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $1,060,260 |
| NIH project number | 5R44ES036492-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11175514 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants would be people willing to donate cells or clinical samples, including healthy volunteers and individuals with neurological conditions tied to mitochondrial or cholinergic problems.
✕Less likely to help
People seeking a direct treatment or immediate clinical benefit for their condition are unlikely to benefit because this work develops a lab testing platform rather than a therapy.
What this research studies
Researchers will create many organ-like tissues from human stem cells to represent a range of people and genetic backgrounds. These lab-grown tissues will be exposed to chemicals to see how mitochondrial function and acetylcholine-related pathways respond. The approach aims to create a 'virtual population' that reveals which individuals react to lower doses or by different toxic mechanisms. Results will be used to improve chemical safety screening without testing harmful exposures in real people.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help identify people who are unusually sensitive to certain chemicals and reduce harmful exposures by improving safety testing.
How similar studies have gone: Organ-on-chip and iPSC-based toxicity tests have shown promise in predicting harm, but assembling a large 'virtual population' to capture human genetic diversity is a newer approach with limited prior validation.
Where this research is happening
-
Lena Biosciences, INC.
Atlanta, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Vukasinovic, Jelena — Lena Biosciences, INC.
- Study coordinator: Vukasinovic, Jelena
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
A platform using virtual humans to test chemical toxicity
This study is working on a new way to understand how different people react to chemicals by using virtual models that mimic human responses, helping to find out who might be more sensitive to lower levels of toxic substances, so we can make safer choices for everyone.
-
Using a perfused organ panel to test chemical toxicity without live animals
This study is working on a new way to test how harmful chemicals are by using a special setup that acts like real organs, so we can learn about their effects without using live animals, making it safer and more humane.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.