Wenxin Cao (D2), Department of Chemical System Engineering, recieved Excellence Award at Poster Session for exploratory research at the Japanese Society for Artificial Organs

On 10th November 2023, Wenxin Cao (D2), Sakai-Nishikawa Lab, Department of Chemical System Engineering, recieved
Excellence Award at Poster Session for exploratory research at the 61st Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Artificial Organs.

Wenxin Cao is On the left

Excellence Award at Poster Session for exploratory research at the 61st Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Artificial Organs
This award is presented to researchers/doctors/medical staff who have presented promising research ideas and solid preliminary results, which are expected to make a significant clinical or academic contribution in the near future.

About awarded research
Title: Development of an in vitro Model for Host-Microbe Interaction in Small Intestine
Over the past decades, gut microbiota is emerging as an underestimated factor regulating human health and disease. And numerous scientific studies have reported that gut microbiota can influence not only intestinal barrier functions but also the functions of other organs. However, there are challenges remaining from the published in vitro models, such as the limited co-culture ability and time span for host cells with diverse intestinal bacteria species, as well as the complex design and equipment requirement.

Therefore, this research aims to establish a long-term and scalable in vitro co-culture model representative of the host-microbe interaction in the small intestine by reconstructing the mucosa barrier and anaerobic environments within an intuitive device. Hence, this in vitro model can further be applied to recapitulate the underlying pathogenic mechanisms for gastrointestinal disorders.

This in vitro model is expected to be easy-reproducible and scalable, allowing long-term co-culture of diverse types of cells and bacteria for extensive data collection, which can be a strong alternative for animal models in research related to the gastrointestinal tract. It is also applicable to various fields of research including identifying potential therapeutics and analyzing drug delivery characteristics. Furthermore, this novel device design is also suitable for mass production and future commercialization as a standardized laboratory supply.

 Your impression & future plan
It is my honor to have the chance to present my research at the conference and receive comments and suggestions from other researchers. And I really appreciate all the support from our collaborator at Meiji Co., Ltd, and everyone at Sakai-Nishikawa Lab. During my doctoral courses I will try my best to achieve the objectives as planned, and I wish my work can contribute to the progress of biomedical research and the betterment of human welfare in the future.