VU Amsterdam official partner of hDMT as of 1 November

On 1 November 2022, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam became a partner of the Institute for human organ and Disease Model Technologies (hDMT), a non-profit organisation. hDMT focuses on developing and qualifying cell culture models that mimic human tissue based on organ-on-chip technology, and on facilitating the implementation of these techniques. Fourteen Dutch partner organisations, including universities and hospitals, are now working together in the hDMT consortium. Although animal experiments are still needed to study complex interactions between different organ systems, there is growing evidence that animal models do not always provide the best predictions when it comes to how certain diseases will manifest in humans, or how they will respond to treatment. Moreover, the use of laboratory animals has come under increasing scrutiny due to ethical concerns. The advantage of organ-on-chip technology is that it has a better - or at least equally good - predictive value for humans and can help reduce the use of laboratory animals. Live tissue - Organ-on-chip technology is considered a potential game-changer for many applications.