We have launched a BIRDIE dedicated website (www.birdieproject.eu) and Twitter account (@project_birdie). On the website you will find all the relevant information about the project, its vision, scientific background and project plan, the team behind and relevant updates.
BIRDIE, with its full name Bioprinting on-chip microphysiological models of humanized kidney tubulointerstitium, aims at developing three-dimensional (3D) in vitro human renal tubulointerstitium (TI) models to enable viral infection and nephrotoxicity studies while creating a robust platform to address other diseases and treatment innovations in the future. The research consortium consists of academic partners from Maastricht University, Netherlands, and University of Nantes, France, as well as two highly innovative European SMEs TissUse, Germany, and Fluicell, Sweden. The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 FET Open programme under grant agreement No 964452.
“Creating bioprinted kidney in vitro models has seen a tremendous progress over the past five years”, says Carlos Mota, a BIRDIE project coordinator from Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine (MERLN) from Maastricht University. “Although these models gradually demonstrate the potentiality of bioprinting, further combination of techniques is necessary to create reliable and relevant in vitro platforms to study renal disease. With the current project, we gathered a unique team of partners from academia and industry with complementary expertise to achieve the project aims. With a primary focus on developing models to investigate viral infection and nephrotoxicity, we believe that we will also build relevant platforms to aid in future therapeutic developments for patients with kidney disease.”
BIRDIE Project Website 