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More than 35,000 clinicians, scientists and allied health professionals from over 160 countries are part of the ERS community
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We develop in vitro systems gathering two key characteristics: (1) they are human based and (2) they recreate the in vivo microenvironment cells experience in the body. Acting as miniaturized tissue surrogates, these models can potentially predict human biological responses to drugs and other molecules. These systems can help speeding up drug development and molecule safety screenings, which translates into safer and faster solutions for patients. Besides, our systems make precision medicine possible, while at the same time, they represent a reliable alternative to animal experiments.
Acute Lung Injury (ALI)\Cell biology\Epithelial cell\Interstitial lung disease\Molecular biology
Global fellowships (return phase only)\ European fellowships
AlveoliX facilities are split into two locations specialized in organ-on-chip production (clean room) and R&D respectively. The R&D department is equipped with a BSL2 cell culture lab with O2- and humidity-controlled incubators for modelling hyper- or hypoxic conditions, life cell imaging microscope and fully equipped molecular biology lab. Additionally, we have access to BSL3 cell culture labs (SITEM) and facilities and equipment from the University of Bern including FACS, imaging facilities (life cell and high-resolution imaging, electron microscopy), thermocycler, multiplate reader and capillary Western Blot among others. Through the Bern Biobank, we have access to primary human pulmonary tissue.
AlveoliX participates in numerous scientific consortiums consisting of public and private entities. We are in continuous cooperation within research networks applying for international grants such as ITN or EUROSTARS from the Horizon2020 program, or within national programs as the Swiss National Science Foundation. Those grants represent a significant part of the R&D funding invested in developing lung on chip applications as it is the case of the EUROSTARS – AIM4Doc project. In addition to private capital from investors, AlveoliX’s research contracts with private customers, including pharma companies, also reports a substantial contribution to the R&D funding partition.
AlveoliX R&D department is located at SITEM, the meeting point for patient-focused innovation, technology development and translational medicine in the capital of Switzerland. This centre, integrated by SMEs, clinicians and academics provides a perfect environment for networking and entrepreneurship, including business mentorship. In addition, as a member of different scientific consortiums, AlveoliX has a broad number of cooperation partners at the academia, headed by the University of Bern; the clinics, at the Inselspital, and industry, which ensures secondment opportunities in different sectors.
AlveoliX is a young start-up in which 30% of the team is integrated by international researchers from different backgrounds. Researchers actively participate in configuring a personalized carrier development plan, which is agreed upon with their supervisor. Milestones and training areas are set jointly with the supervisor, and achievement of development goals are discussed every 6 months. Training areas and responsibilities include:
– Project management, experimental design & data analysis, reporting, coordination and communication with project partners
– Identification and handling of potential ethical conflicts in research
– Identification and management of intellectual property conflicts
– Contribution to internship program innovation and mentorship of students
– Outreach activities:
o Science dissemination in conferences, website and social media
o Organization of open doors days, worskshops and seminars
o Article publication in scientific journals
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