Missions

As part of a project funded by the ANR, the Matsunaga lab is participating in the development of an organ-on-a-chip instrumentation platform to reproduce and understand molecular exchanges in biological tissues. In the human body, the bloodstream supplies nutrients and oxygen to tissues, while the lymphatic system removes fluids and metabolic waste, maintaining a chemical and physical balance that is essential for tissue function. This balance has been modelled by Starling's principle, which is based on the combined effect of hydrodynamic and osmotic flows. Revised to include lymphatic recirculation, Starling's principle remains difficult to characterise based on in vivo measurements. Organs-on-chips, which enable the creation of blood or lymphatic vascular networks, offer a novel solution for understanding and measuring the exchange of analytes and colloids in our tissues. It is this opportunity that we wish to exploit in our project.

By bringing together a consortium involving organ-on-a-chip engineers (LAAS-CNRS), biochemist specialising in the extracellular matrix (SoftMat) and specialists in vascular biology on a chip (University of Tokyo), we aim to develop and implement an organ-on-a-chip platform for interstitial transport by combining microfluidic tools, optical imaging and finite element modelling of flows in poroelastic media. At the Matsunaga lab, our mission is to understand and characterise how blood and lymphatic barrier functions are modulated by the tissue that supports them. In particular, we seek to understand how fibroblasts, which modulate the physical and chemical environment of vascularisation, contribute to stabilising interstitial exchanges. In addition, we will seek to understand how mechanical stimulation of tissue by blood pressure or lymphatic drainage affects barrier functions.

Activities

The candidate (M/F) will be required to conduct experiments involving the manufacture of organs-on-a-chip using co-cultures based on blood and/or lymphatic and/or stromal vascular cells such as fibroblasts. They must be capable of stabilising cultures over long periods of time, as well as mastering the manufacture of 3D cell cultures using collagen gel-based biomaterials. Finally, and most importantly, they will be required to characterise the microvessels on chips both structurally and functionally. They will then be able to work on the mechanical stressing of these cellular systems in order to understand and elucidate the coupling between barrier function and the response of the surrounding tissue.

Skills

To carry out these tasks, we are seeking a candidate (M/F) with a background in biology or technology and a solid education in bioengineering.

Work Context

The work will be carried out at the Matsunaga Lab at the University of Tokyo (Institute of Industrial Science). The laboratory specialises in vascular biology and has a state-of-the-art working environment for the manufacture and characterisation of organs-on-chips.

Constraints and risks

No specific constraints or risks, beyond the handling of primary human cells for the manufacture of organs-on-chips.