Katja Wolthers, Amsterdam UMC: Virology using human models - let's show some guts!

02:313 years ago

To study viruses that make people sick, we often use laboratory animals. However, virus infections in animals are different than in humans. New 3D culture models or 'organoids', which look like human organs in a petri dish, offer a unique opportunity to investigate how viruses enter the human body and cause disease. Our research focuses on enteroviruses such as polio. Due to vaccination, polio is rare, but other enteroviruses are increasingly a threat to young children and patients with impaired immune defenses. There are no medications available, because knowledge about infections with enteroviruses is limited. In our research we use organoids to see how enteroviruses enter the human body and by which means you can prevent that, without the use of laboratory animals. With this project we want to show that our technique can replace the use of laboratory animals in virus research.

Related

EURL ECVAM
Projects and initiatives
HealthInnovationPolicy

EURL ECVAM

The EU Reference Laboratory for alternatives to animal testing (EURL ECVAM) promotes and facilitates the use of non-animal methods in testing and research. It validates, disseminates and shares knowledge on the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement of animal experiments). In this video, Raffaella Corvi explains what EURL ECVAM does in the field of safety testing of chemicals while reducing laboratory animal testing. Watch the accessible version of the video here (https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-230374). ©European Union, 2021
02:334 months ago
Five simple tricks for making your own video for TPI.tv
TPI.tv videos

Five simple tricks for making your own video for TPI.tv

This video shows you how to make a video yourself. It's really not that difficult! See also the submission page (https://tpi.tv/submit-a-video) for additional information.
01:234 years ago
 Helpathon #11 – Can you help Terry?
Questions
HelpathonsHealth

Helpathon #11 – Can you help Terry?

Terry Vrijenhoek (UMC Utrecht) is a geneticist and explores the societal impact of gene therapy. In this Helpathon the focus is on Alzheimers, for which there is no cure but there is a promising RNA-based therapy in the pipeline. Can you help Terry with designing scenarios for responsible development for gene therapy for Alzheimer disease in terms of benefits, risks, budgets and animal models? More information can be found here (https://www.helpathonhotel.org/coming-up).
01:1438 days ago
Helpathon #11 – Can you help Francesca?
Questions
HelpathonsHealth

Helpathon #11 – Can you help Francesca?

Francesca Stillitano (UMC Utrecht) is a geneticist and an Assistant Professor at the Department of Cardiology. Francesca is currently working with mice models and with human tissue-based in vitro models to develop and test new gene therapies for a rare cardiomyopathy. Can you help Francesca with developing gene therapies for curing inherited cardiomyopathies without the use of animal models? More information can be found here (https://www.helpathonhotel.org/coming-up).
01:5538 days ago