Panel - In vitro human organ-on-chip models to identify biomarkers and drug targets for Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease is a highly prevalent neurodegenerative disease affecting millions. There are numerous genetic and environmental factors contributing to disease initiation and progression. This makes it challenging to identify early disease biomarkers and develop medication, as small but relevant signals are lost in the large, diverse patient population. There is a need for research and modeling approaches empowered by technologies that can dissect these variations. In this talk we will present our progress in and the potential of using advanced in vitro systems that model key aspects of brain function in a patient-specific manner. These so-called organ-on-chip models offer more physiologically relevant models for human conditions, reducing the need to rely on animal testing. We combine superior cell biology with sensor technologies to detect electrophysiological and biochemical fingerprints. This allows building a Parkinson atlas of complex phenotypes, enabling AI-mediated stratification of this complex disease into functional subgroups. These developments will enable Parkinson’s disease sub-group-specific biomarker discovery and personalized drug implementation.