Initiative receives NSF planning grant

The Bioengineered Organs Initiative is working to save lives by increasing the amount of organs available to patients in need. Through collaborative work in 3-D printing, tissue engineering, biomaterials, cellular mechanics, and artificial organs, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University are supporting or replacing diseased organs. These bioengineered organs can improve survival rates for the millions of patients with end-stage organ failure in the United States. But without the necessary time and funding, achieving such a goal is impossible. 

The Bioengineered Organs Initiative recently received a planning grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), which will allow them to assemble a NSF proposal to establish an Engineering Research Center (ERC) for Advanced Organ Biofabrication. This ERC would establish the Initiative as a multi-institution collaborative research center, with Carnegie Mellon leading the effort. The Center would be co-located at Carnegie Mellon, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Texas-El Paso.

Carnegie Mellon is one of 30 groups who received a planning grant to bid for this new research center. With the planning grant, the Initiative has begun writing a pre-proposal which outlines the goals and vision of the Center for Advanced Organ Biofabrication. The Center would address key scientific and technological knowledge gaps required to mass manufacture tissue-based, permanent support organs. If the pre-proposal is accepted, the Bioengineered Organs Initiative will assemble a full proposal and compete to be one of three to four groups receiving full Center funding.