The University of Eastern Finland will transfer its expertise in human tissue models to Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) as part of a project funded by the EU’s Horizon Europe programme. Professor Pasi Tavi of the A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences received a three-year funding of 225,000 euros for the project.
European policy encourages replacing animal experiments with scientifically robust human-based alternatives. Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technologies make this possible by allowing researchers to build functioning human heart and brain tissue in the laboratory. However, these methods are still unevenly available across Europe, and in the Baltic region, the capacity to produce such models remains limited. The ORGANIZE project addresses this gap.
“Together with Tallinn University of Technology and the University of Copenhagen, we are establishing an integrated platform that combines engineered heart tissues, neural organoids, electrophysiology and computational modelling”, Tavi says.
Through training, researcher exchange and shared workflows, the project will strengthen TalTech’s capacity and establish it as a regional centre of expertise. The University of Eastern Finland contributes expertise and training in producing iPSC-derived cardiac cells and bioengineered heart tissue.
