QIMR BERGHOFER MEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Research Field: Bioengineering
One of the most exciting areas in Professor Hudson’s current work, focuses on
the development of what is known as ‘human bioengineered muscle tissue’.
Simply put, that means being able to make and grow human heart tissue, in a
dish in a laboratory setting.
These human cardiac organoids (hCO) from human pluripotent stem cells
(hPSC) can be used for regenerative medicine as a patch to help restore heart
function. An application of hCO for adult heart failure patients is now progressing
to clinical trials in Germany, and in Australia there is a consortium to develop
hCO therapies for children with congenital heart defects.
James has actively engaged the community giving lectures to students, teachers
and developing coursework for the Queensland Senior Biology Syllabus and
incorporating new organoid technologies into University undergraduate degrees.
This research reduces the need to experiment on animals or humans, and
enables closer study of how the heart works, leading to the discovery of new
therapies for heart related diseases.