FLEISCHER
LAB
RESEARCH AREAS
Our research sits at the interface of biology, engineering, and chemistry, where we develop next-generation tissue engineering and organ-on-a-chip technologies to recreate human physiology with unprecedented precision. By leveraging these advanced human model systems, we seek to uncover mechanisms of health and disease and to accelerate the development of new therapeutics.
Technology and Platform Development
Despite decades of scientific progress, the ability to study and treat human disease remains fundamentally limited by the available tools. Our lab addresses this challenge by developing tissue engineering and organ-on-a-chip technologies to build functional replicas of human tissues that faithfully recapitulate their physiology. To achieve this, we take an interdisciplinary approach, integrating stem cells, biomaterials, bioreactors, and advanced microfabrication and imaging techniques.
Studying Human Health and Disease
Armed with the technologies we develop, we investigate organ physiology and pathology under highly controlled settings, enabling mechanistic studies of the human body in ways that were not previously possible. We seek to understand how organs function, how disease originates, progresses, and disrupts normal physiology, and how tissues regenerate, from the molecular and cellular level up to the tissue scale. We aim to translate insights from these studies into effective clinical therapies. Our current research primarily focuses on cardiovascular and neuromuscular conditions.
Drug Discovery and Therapeutic Translation
The vast majority of drug candidates that show promise in preclinical studies fail in clinical trials, largely because conventional models do not adequately replicate human physiology. Our engineered tissue platforms overcome this limitation, providing physiologically relevant human systems to test new therapeutic candidates, evaluate efficacy, and identify toxicity early in the development process. Through these technologies, we aim to accelerate drug discovery and development while enabling the creation of more precise and effective therapies.
