# PCOS and androgen-related disease modeling and drug testing in Multi-organ Integrated Microfluidic Reproductive Platform

> **NIH NIH UH3** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $80,000

## Abstract

Supplement Project Summary
 Polycystic ovary syndrome is a heterogeneous endocrine disorder affecting between 5 and 15% of
reproductive aged women and presents with a wide spectrum of phenotypes. It is typically characterized by
hyperandrogenism and anovulatory infertility or polycystic ovarian morphologic features but also includes
metabolic abnormalities and several other health complications such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease,
endometrial cancer, and ovarian cancer. Its etiology is multifactorial including environmental, genetic and lifestyle
factors and current therapeutic strategies remain unsatisfactory. Studying this pathology is complicated
further because of limitations in animal and in vitro PCOS models which are unable to fully replicate the human
physiology. Moreover, since many endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are implicated in the pathophysiology
of several diseases, a system that can test combinations of multiple EDCs at various concentrations, indicative
of typical of human exposures, is needed. Our current research effort has been to deploy a dynamic microfluidic
platform, called LATTICE, comprised of an integrated network of explants and of tissue-engineered organ
models relevant to PCOS pathophysiology, including ovary, liver, pancreas, fat, endometrium, fallopian tube,
and breast. Given the versatility of Lattice, this platform can be used to study any microphysiological system, in
the normal and diseased contexts. Up to 8 different organ systems can be studied in one plate. This supplement
will enable the deposition of data regarding Lattice and its abilities to the broader MPS database. This unique
and versatile technology is research and pharma-friendly and will change the way in vitro studies are done to
understand systems biology as well as test compounds in a platform that houses the essential organ systems of
the body.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10432418
- **Project number:** 3UH3ES029073-05S1
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Ji-Yong Julie Kim
- **Activity code:** UH3 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $80,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-09-15 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10432418

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10432418, PCOS and androgen-related disease modeling and drug testing in Multi-organ Integrated Microfluidic Reproductive Platform (3UH3ES029073-05S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-03 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10432418. Licensed CC0.

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