March was a month of meaningful milestones in the lab and strong engagement from our community. Here is where things stand heading into April.
Recellularization Moves to Larger Tissue Formats
Our recellularization work, the process of repopulating a cleaned tissue scaffold with living cells, has been the primary research focus over the past two months. The team has successfully upscaled from small tissue pieces through progressively larger formats, validating two distinct reseeding strategies along the way. Both approaches are performing well and giving us confidence as we prepare for the next major step: processing full 3D cylindrical tissue structures.
One important finding came from this upscaling work. Our confocal microscopy results confirmed that while smaller samples maintain strong cell density under static conditions, larger tissue pieces require active nutrient flow to keep cells healthy throughout the scaffold. This validated what the team had anticipated: a bioreactor, equipment that delivers nutrients and mechanical stimulation to growing tissue, is essential for full-scale processing. This was expected, and exactly the kind of result that informs our path forward.
Bioreactor Development Progressing
On the bioreactor front, our chief bioengineer Ján has been testing multiple configurations, including different tissue-holding designs and media flow systems. The team is also exploring compact, cost-effective bioreactor options that could support processing multiple tissue samples simultaneously. This matters because scalability will be critical when we eventually move toward clinical application. We are looking forward to sharing more on this front in the coming months.
Expanding Lab Capacity
Our team in Slovakia has been hiring and training new staff to build dedicated in-house histology and immunohistochemistry capabilities. As the volume of tissue samples flowing through the pipeline continues to grow (fresh donor tissue, decellularized scaffolds, recellularized samples at increasing scales), having this capacity in-house ensures the team can process and analyze samples independently and efficiently.
Community and Organization Updates
Our Q&A campaign asking the community to submit questions for Ján has been a huge success, with 139 questions submitted so far. Ján will be recording answers to a curated selection of these questions. We cannot wait to share that content with you.
We are also preparing for the Intact Global conference in Los Angeles on April 18 and 19, where we will be presenting on our research progress. If you are in the area, we would love to see you there.
Work on our updated website is moving quickly, and we are aiming to have it live in time for the conference.
Your Support Makes This Possible
In March, our community contributed $15,581 across all donation platforms. Thank you to every single person who gave. Your contributions are what keep this research moving forward.
