Progress Meeting October 2024

On the 17th of October 2024, members of the GUTVIBRATIONS consortium gathered online for our annual autumn progress meeting.

During this meeting, we gathered once again in Gather Town to discuss the progress made within our project. At this stage, we have concluded Work Packages (WPs) 1 to 5 and have successfully developed two complex models: the gut mucosa model and the BBB brain model. We will now proceed with the next phase of the project, which includes infecting our complex models, conducting antiviral testing against viruses that interact with the gut-brain axis, and assembling the complex human gut-brain axis OoC.

Closing of Work Package 5 (INFECT)

Before this meeting, we achieved a milestone in our project; the completion of Work Package 5 (INFECT). Within this Work Package (WP), we applied our complex models as infectious diseases models. This was established using Enteroviruses A-71 (EV-A71), a virus that causes hand, foot, and mouth disease in infants and young children.

We are thrilled to share that our accomplishments have earned us a positive review from the project officer, who stated that “(the) Scientific and technological progress of the GUTVIBRATIONS project is excellent. Scientific work packages are on track, and exceptional results have been achieved in the development of OoC tissues/cell cultures and the OoC platform.”

Illustrations representing the development of our complex model

What’s next for us?

The work carried out in WP5 will be continued in WP6 (TREAT), WP7 (STACK), and WP8 (INDUSTRIALISE). We will utilize our complex models to present a showcase for antiviral testing against viruses that interact with the gut-brain axis. Furthermore, , the complex models will be combined to create a complex human gut-brain axis OoC. Finally, the STACKS platform will be made suitable for industrial applications.