# Resources Core

> **NIH NIH U2C** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MED BR GALVESTON · 2024 · $756,268

## Abstract

RESOURCES CORE ABSTRACT
The Resources Core will be the “trusted provider” part of the proposed Translational Center for
Microphysiological Systems-Based Drug Development Tools for Pregnancy and Women's Health. The vision of
the Center is to overcome existing limitations and challenges in pre-clinical and clinical testing of drug candidates
for pregnant women. The goal of the Resources Core is to provide high-quality MPS devices and cells to the
Qualification Core so that the Qualification Core can successfully conduct drug testing that can lead to qualifying
the MPS devices, with the ultimate goal of facilitating widespread use of the MPS devices as drug development
tools for pregnancy and women’s health. The microfabrication part of the Core will be at Texas A&M University,
whereas the cell part of the Core will be at UTMB. The two laboratories have been working together for the past
5+ years in developing the five feto-maternal organ MPS devices to be used here, namely the chorio-decidual
interface (CD-OOC), the placental-endothelial interface (PLA-OOC), the decidual-Fetal membrane
interface (FMi-OOC), the multi-organ feto-maternal interface (FMi-PLA-OOC), and the vagina-cervix-decidua
interface (VCD-OOC). All cell lines, mostly derived from primary cells, have also been established and well
validated. The two laboratories have already been exchanging all MPS devices as well as cells, along with usage
protocols, thus are well experienced in providing the needed devices and cells mutually. Importantly, the two
laboratories have also provided the MPS devices and cells to the Rusyn Lab that is leading the Qualification
Core. Thus, all parties involved in the Center are already working together closely and collaborating. The Core’s
work will be organized around three Specific Aims. First, the Core will microfabricate and prepare the MPS
systems in sufficient quantities for the Qualification Core to conduct drug testing. Second, the Core will provide
enough authenticated cells to the Qualification Core. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) for microfabrication
and quality control (QC), cell maintenance, as well as MPS device operation and testing will be developed and
provided as well. These SOPs will be optimized to provide MPS devices and cells that are highly reproducible
with minimum device-to-device and batch-to-batch variations. Importantly, key MPS readouts from the four drugs
to be tested using the MPS devices will be generated, serving as baseline data for the Qualification Core that
will conduct the in-depth testing of the four drugs on the MPS devices. All MPS devices to be provided to the
Qualification Core will strictly follow these SOPs, and only devices and cells that pass the QC matrix will be
provided. Finally, a clear pathway towards large-scale deployment and/or commercialization of the MPS devices
will be developed so that the qualified MPS devices can be provided to the broad stakeholders in a sustainable
manner. The impact of t...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10816255
- **Project number:** 1U2CTR004868-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MED BR GALVESTON
- **Principal Investigator:** RAMKUMAR MENON
- **Activity code:** U2C (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $756,268
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-06-04 → 2029-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10816255

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10816255, Resources Core (1U2CTR004868-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10816255. Licensed CC0.

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