Events

Researchers and professionals from the Academic and industrial world have created the first Italian Association in the field of organ-on-chips. React4Life, our main exploitation partner, is one of the founding members of the Italian Society of Organ-on-Chip.

Founded with scientific, cultural, informative and social purposes, the SIOoC (Società Italiana Organ-on-Chip) is aimed at promoting and coordinating studies and research on organ-on-chip.
It meets the need of a single national reference to foster contact between the world of scientific and industrial research, expanding the knowledge of organ-on-chips and their applications in civil society.

Alternative methods represent an emerging field that is already impacting fundamental biology as well as drug development. The Italian Organ-on-Chip Society (SIOoC) aims to establish a multidisciplinary, open container with the final goal of advancing knowledge and promoting awareness, scientific discussion, and collaboration on organ-on-chip technology both in academia and society.

SIOoC brings together scientists from 11 different top Italian institutions and SMEs with expertise encompassing biology, engineering, physics, mathematics, technology transfer and regulatory aspects, among them our partner React4Life.

“I am convinced that the establishment of this association represents an essential step to align Italy with other Countries. Organ-on-chip is a theme of great international interest both in the academic and industrial field, especially for its impact on patients’s health: thanks to these innovative technologies, personalized therapies can be tested, and better and safer drugs will be available.” says Maurizio Aiello, CEO and Co-founder at React4life.

SIOoC can rely on the International relevance of its scientists, and within the activities that the association will implement, there will be the coordination with similar Institutions abroad to organize meetings, congresses and training courses, as well as the periodic publication of articles and books that help the understanding and dissemination of these technologies.Italian Society of Organ-on-Chip

Our project coordinator Silvia Scaglione contributed to the organization of the 1st Microphysiological Systems World Summit, organized by the Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT) and EUROoCS, with the assistance of more than forty organizations all around the World.

Microphysiological systems (MPS) comprise a number of bioengineering breakthroughs that reproduce organ architecture and function in vitro. Fueled by stem-cell technologies, a broad variety of human models and test systems have emerged, making relevant experimental tools broadly available through international and multidisciplinary collaborations.

Conference series is a key tool for forming a community and accelerating scientific developments, their implementation and global harmonization. They provide an overview of the state-of-the-art in such dynamic and diverse fields, enabling transfer learning. Opinion leaders identified a global conference on MPS in the field as a key step forward in the maturation and harmonization of the area.

40+ international organizations and companies, among them also our partner React4Life, have teamed up for this proposal to initiate a series of annual MPS World Summits to present the latest scientific achievements, discuss the advances and challenges, and enable communication between young and newly interested scientists and pioneers of the MPS field.

Global attendees were attracted to the New Orleans inaugural conference in May-June 2022, which also laid the groundwork for an MPS technology roadmap. The conference succeeded in improving stakeholder dialogue and offering networking opportunities for young scientists, researchers, and industry leaders in the MPS sector. We are looking forward to the next edition!