Vall d'Hebron Talks by VHIR 'Microfluidic Systems for In Vitro Simulation of Heterogeneous Glioblastoma Tumors: Unveiling Complex Tumor Responses'

Speaker: Dr. Ignacio Ochoa Garrido, Head of the Tissue Microenvironment Laboratory (TMB LAB) of the Health Research Institute of Aragon (IIS ARAGON).

Dr. Ignacio Ochoa obtained his Bachelor's degree in Biology and Biochemistry from the University of Navarra in 1999 and 2003. He completed his Ph.D. in the Department of Histology and Pathology of this same university in 2004. After this stage, he joined the group of Structural Mechanics and Modeling of Materials (GEMM) of the University of Zaragoza to carry out his postdoctoral stay and start up the group's experimental bio-laboratory. Dr. Ochoa studied how the environment conditioned cellular behavior at the micro (microfluidics) and macroscale (tissue engineering) during this period. In 2015, he started as an assistant professor in the Department of Human Anatomy and Histology at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Zaragoza, where he is actually an associate professor. He is the principal investigator of the Tissue Microenvironment (TME) research group of Aragon Institute of Engineering Research (I3A) and the CIBER BBN. This research group also belongs to the Institute for Health Research Aragon - IIS Aragón. Dr.Ochoa is also coordinator of the "new technologies and innovation applied to health” program in this health research institute.
Dr. Ochoa has published more than 50 articles in indexed international journals, four book chapters, and mora than 10 patents, 5 of them licensed. Also, he has been an invited speaker in several national and international meetings and conferences.
Dr. Ochoa is also co-founder of BEONCHIP SL, a company dedicated to developing and commercializing microfluidic devices for organ-on-chip applications, and founding partner of "EBERS SL," a company dedicated to the development and commercialization of equipment for tissue engineering.

Abstract: Glioblastoma, a highly heterogeneous tumor, exhibits not only spatial variation but also temporal diversity. Replicating such intricate tumor characteristics in vitro has posed challenges with conventional cell culture methods. Nonetheless, the emergence of microfluidics in cell cultivation has provided a gateway to recreating intricate microenvironments. This study successfully emulates pivotal features of these lethal brain tumors by harnessing microphysiological systems, also known as organ-on-chip devices. Through smart implementation of these platforms, we replicate responses to treatments across diverse environmental conditions, model pseudo-palisading formations, simulate necrotic cores, and explore their impact on immune responses. Our findings underscore the pivotal role of the tumor microenvironment, revealing its capacity to shape cellular behavior and treatment responsiveness. This insight advocates for the integration of such microenvironmental considerations into preclinical models, trying to enhance predictive accuracy for clinical treatment responses. Moreover, these models illuminate the interplay between tumor and non-tumor cells, elucidating their adaptive behavior in varying environments and offering avenues for identifying novel therapeutic targets and biomarkers.

Host: Dr. Ibane Abasolo Olaortua, Head of group Clinical Biochemistry, Drug Delivery & Therapy (CB-DDT). 

Online registration: https://gencat.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_TEeCubtyT927ZurFqqR0Tw​