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TRR 225:  From the Fundamentals of Biofabrication towards Functional Tissue Models

Subject Area Materials Science and Engineering
Biology
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Medicine
Physics
Term since 2018
Website Homepage
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 326998133
 
The TRR is based on research into biofabrication and its systematic use with the long-term goal of producing functional tissue models. Biofabrication is defined as the use of automated 3D printing processes for the production of hierarchical cell-material constructs in a spatial arrangement, which should enable maturation into tissue models with functional properties. This offers the possibility of automated production of functional tissue models, which would be invaluable as a substitute for animal experiments, for pharmaceutical and cancer research and as a regenerative therapy option. The focus of the first funding period (FP1) of the TRR was on the development of materials and processes with a focus on the survival of cells in the printing process. In FP2, the focus shifted to the behavior of the cells in the printed biofabricates and the development of initial tissue models. With 163 publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals, the TRR was able to make a significant contribution to the research field in FP2. More than half of these studies are the result of cooperation between at least two subprojects, demonstrating the truly collaborative nature of the TRR consortium. This is complemented by 10 patent applications resulting from the network, an evolving spin-off initiative, and an EIC transition project. In line with the initial plan, in FP3 the consortium is focusing on research and further development of tissue models with biologically functional properties. To achieve this, the activities in the project areas of bioinks (A) and methods (B) are specifically geared towards the requirements of the projects in the area of biofabricated models (C). The TRR sites had already created a unique basis with the establishment of the first two Master's degree courses and the first two professorships for biofabrication in Germany. During the TRR funding period, further structure-building measures were taken, such as the establishment of four additional professorships, the founding of the cross-faculty Institute for Functional Materials and Biofabrication (IFB) and the construction of the Center of Polymers for Life (CPL) research building in Würzburg, a unique integrative infrastructure for biofabrication research. Biofabrication is a growing field of research with great prospects for the future. Thus, also the BMBF is planning future funding initiatives for “Bioprinting as a key technology for the medicine of the future” (brochure October 2023). For the TRR, in addition to the follow-up activities resulting from the consortium itself, concrete future areas of application are models for infection research or the central nervous system, for which specialized CRCs exist in Würzburg and Erlangen. Taken together, for the TRR, the structural measures and the research work with the unique combination of fundamental understanding and successful aspects of translational research thus provide excellent prospects far beyond FP.
DFG Programme CRC/Transregios
International Connection USA

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