Draper Researchers to Present Respiratory Infection Findings at Two Conferences
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., February 18, 2025 – Two Draper researchers have been selected to deliver poster sessions at biotechnology conferences in February and March.
Rebeccah Luu, Senior Member of Technical Staff in the Cell and Tissue Engineering group, will present research findings from Draper’s Respiratory Infectious Disease MPS Tissue Model on February 19 and 20 at the Gordon Research Conference on Cilia, Mucus and Mucociliary Interactions in Pomona, California. The presentation will discuss generating tissues from donors with respiratory disease to study the impact of co-morbidities on SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Anjana Jeyaram, Senior Member of Technical Staff in the Cell and Tissue Engineering group, will also be presenting research from Draper’s Respiratory Infectious Disease MPS Tissue Model on March 4 at the Keystone Symposia on Myeloid Cells in Hannover, Germany. Jeyaram will be presenting on developing an immune-competent lung model for studying SARS-CoV-2 infection.
The research is part of Draper’s effort to advance the scientific understanding of illness and injury resulting from exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and potentially other emerging infectious diseases, and to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) agents. The company is also evaluating medical countermeasures (MCMs) including potential therapies and vaccines using its tissue chip platform—also known as a microphysiological system (MPS).
Draper’s MCM evaluation platform consists of the PREDICT96 system, which is a high-throughput, microfluidic three-dimensional tissue culture platform, supported by a suite of organ-on-chip tissue models, molecular assays, omics-based technologies, and advanced analytical methods for biomarker discovery and biomarker correlation with animal models.
The MCM evaluation platform is part of an integrated portfolio of technologies and resources at Draper intended to help government, industry and academia make better use of biomedicine. This project has been supported in whole or in part with federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services; Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), under Other Transaction Agreement number 75A50123C00042. Funding for this award comes from BARDA’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Countermeasures and Project NextGen programs.
Released February 18, 2025
