Anika Assaraf is our BRC PhD student. More about Anika?

This PhD project started in September 2023 and built upon our emerging excellence in this highly topical field, studying different respiratory infections in advanced cell culture models, and determining how the host-pathogen interaction was modulated by matrix conditions.

Developing advanced 3D cell culture models of respiratory infection to accelerate translational research

Recent work in the field of cell biology has indicated that compared with standard 2D cell culture, 3D cell culture models can better replicate cellular biology in vivo. This project aims to develop a droplet microfluidic based system capable of generating dually encapsulated cellular spheres with a core-shell structure. This will allow for regulation of the cellular and matrix compositions of the core and shell independently of each other, making it possible to easily explore how different matrix environments can affect cell behaviour. A droplet microfluidic systems will allow for simple and fast generation of a high number of uniformly sized cellular spheres, making it a compelling platform in the development of 3D cell culture models.