For years, the scientific community has been studying models rather than people. We plan to study human tissue and human diseases directly.
For example, the liver is the largest solid organ in the body with amazing regenerative abilities. We know shockingly little about the cells that make up the human liver and in particular, the hepatic immune microenvironment. The liver is a critical organ for all metabolic processes, and when it fails due to disease, the only current treatment is transplantation, which is a high-risk surgery that requires lifelong immuno-suppression. Our research investigates how human liver diseases, such as liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma), change the immune cells in that organ by looking directly at the human liver and diseased human liver, and how we can modify the liver immune microenvironment with nanoparticle-mediated targeted drug delivery. We are applying similar questions to all of the other solid organs in the body, including lungs, heart, kidney, pancreas and intestine.
The goal of this pillar is to use transplant techniques, organs and knowledge as a model to treat diseases wider than transplant. Furthermore, in this area of research we want to expand the concept of Transplant Oncology for all organs. The wide aim of this pillar is to treat and prevent diseases that lead to transplant, thereby reducing the transplant burden. We aim to slow or reverse ongoing liver damage and promote its regeneration which will prevent the need for transplantation.
