Design and model the physiological mechanical compression of a knee joint in an organ-on-a-chip system

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease affecting millions of people worldwide, leading to pain, decreased mobility, and joint function impairment. Current in vitro models lack the complexity to fully mimic the mechanical environment of a joint, which plays a critical role in maintaining tissue homeostasis and inducing pathological conditions like OA.
 
In this project, the student will develop a cutting-edge organ-on-a-chip capable of applying mechanical compression to cells cultured in 3D. By incorporating healthy and pathological compression patterns, the biomimetic model system will allow to study the cellular and molecular changes associated with OA.
 
The primary goal will be to design and validate, through finite element analysis, a system that mimics the mechanical forces a knee experiences during healthy movement, maintaining tissue homeostasis, and pathological compression, simulating post-traumatic osteoarthritis. Then, the student will fabricate the device and explore how varying compression conditions impact knee joint tissues, focusing on cellular responses, matrix production, and signaling pathways.
 
The student will learn techniques such as: microfabrication of microfluidic chip, cell culture in BSL2, fluorescence and confocal microscopy, mRNA transcript analysis, immunohistochemistry.
 
Required background: prior experience with simulation software like COMSOL Multiphysics or equivalent.
 

Type of Project:Internship 

Master's degree: Master of Bioengineering; Master of Engineering Science; Master of Science; Master of Engineering Technology 

Master program: Biomedical engineering; Bioscience Engineering 

Duration: 6/12 months 

For more information or application, please contact Johanna Bolander (johanna.bolander@imec.be) and Pauline Coquart (pauline.coquart@imec.be).