Nargess Khalilgharibi awarded NC3Rs Training Fellowship

Congratulations to Nargess Khalilgharibi, who has been awarded a NC3Rs Training Fellowship. 

During the two-year fellowship, Nargess will develop an open-source multi-scale computational platform to investigate the mechanical role of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in tissue development and disease. Nargess says: "The use of organoids as model systems is increasing in the field. However, most of the current organoid culture techniques rely on the use of animal-derived ECM, affecting experimental reproducibility and hindering their translational potential. Therefore scientists are working to replace animal-derived ECM with synthetic ones. I will use the computational platform to model organoid growth in synthetic ECM with different mechanical properties. This will allow researchers to tailor-design synthetic ECM for growth of different organoids, therefore reducing the use of animals and animal-derived products in research."