Utrecht Advanced In Vitro Models (U-AIM) HUB inaugurated

The kick-off started with a welcome by Prof. Wouter Dhert, Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, stressing the importance of development and validation of in vitro models. Subsequently, the initiators Prof. Roos Masereeuw and Prof. Jos Malda explained the structure of U-AIM. The hub has identified work packages with a focus on five different themes: Education & Knowledge sharing, Marketing & Entrepreneurship, Research & Development, Application & Predictability and Management & Support.
Dr. Jan van der Valk elaborated on the partnership of the hub with the 3Rs-Centre Utrecht Life Sciences. Since the hub aims to accelerate the development of models that can replace animal experiments, the 3Rs-Centre will be involved in a variety of ways, for example with education and training of scientists, knowledge sharing and dissemination of newly developed models through the network of the 3Rs-Centre ULS.
Afterwards, in vitro scientists presented a few show case models of U-AIM, among which was the organ on a chip model, presented by Dr. Yang Li and the liver organoids presented by Dr. Bart Spee. Finally, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) focused on the activities of U-AIM from a regulatory perspective.
 
Vacancy
The hub is currently looking for a Scientific Programme Officer to connect the community of experts and researchers to stakeholders. Read the vacancy here. 
The hub has a variety of partners and is always looking for new collaborations. An introduction to the hub and an overview of established partners can be found here.
Also interested in collaborating with U-AIM? Contact the 3Rs-Centre ULS.

3Rs-Centre ULS Newsletter May 2018