The course covers developments in organoid technology, microfluidic systems, and advanced cellular models, and their applications in disease modeling, toxicity testing, drug testing and personalized medicine. The regulatory landscape governing non-animal methods and the principles of the 3Rs—reduction, replacement, and refinement—is also be discussed. A practical component is included to showcase the existing non-animal experimental resources available at University Medicine Greifswald.
Curriculum:
Day1 (6 hours)
Module 1: Brief history of 3R principles (1.5h)
• Historic importance of animal in biomedical research
• Early mammalian cell culture methods
• Need for animal alternatives
• Refinement, Reduction and Replacement of animal in research
Module 2: The importance of human relevant in vitro models (1.5h)
• The limitations of animal models
• Lessons from human-specific drugs
• Lessons from toxicology studies
Module 3: Organoids (1.5h)
• The advent of iPSCs
• Recreating micro-organs in vitro
• Impact of organoid in biomedicine
Module 4: Microfluidic systems (1.5h)
• How perfusion brings back lost physiology in vitro
• Designing microfluidic platforms
• Impact of microfluidic system in biomedicine
Day2 (6 hours)
Module 5: Invited speaker: 3R initiatives in Germany (1h)
• TBA
Module 6: Applications of organoids and microfluidic model in drug development (1h)
• Effective examples of animal replacement in drug testing
• How complex models are changing pre-clinical drug development
• Regulatory landscape
Module 7: Digital twins: virtual experiments (1h)
• What is a digital twin?
• Building virtual experimental tools
• Applications of digital twins
Module 8: Lessons from gender specific complex models (1h)
• How can complex model push the limits of human physiology
• Modelling gender specific biology
Module 9: Practical applications of complex models at the UMG (2h)
• Kidney, blader and prostate cancer on a chip
• Bone organoids
• 3D vasculature
• Human cell culture serum
Trainer: Dr. Pedro Pinto
Date: Thursday, 27 August 2026, 09:00 – 16:00, - Friday, 28 August 2026, 09:00 – 16:00
Location: HS Nord
Maximal no. of participants: 25
Target groups: Master students and PhD candidates from all fields
To participate, please register for the lecture series via this link.
Contact
Graduiertenakademie
Domstraße 11, Eingang 4, Raum 3.24, 17489 Greifswald
Telefon +49 3834 420 1618
graduiertenakademieuni-greifswaldde