Ep. 328: “Modeling Human Microenvironments” Featuring Dr. Abdullah Khan

Guest: Dr. Abdullah Khan is an Associate Professor of Tissue Engineering at the University of Oxford and a Group Leader at the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine. He discusses how his lab engineers complex human tissue models to study the cellular interactions that drive development, aging, and disease. He also explores how multi-organoid systems can model interactions between tissues such as the bone marrow and heart, and how these platforms could advance disease modeling, drug discovery, and preclinical research. Featured Products and Resources: Get a free wallchart on the derivation and applications of hPSCs. Subscribe to ESC & iPSC News to receive all of the latest research, news, jobs, and events in ESC & iPSC research. The Stem Cell Science Round Up Rescuing hPSC Differentiation – A chemical chromatin restoration approach reverses differentiation defects in human pluripotent stem cells, restoring their ability to generate diverse cell types and brain organoids. A Tumor Organoid Atlas – Patient-derived tumor organoids reveal cancer-specific gene dependencies and therapeutic vulnerabilities, providing a resource for advancing precision oncology. Mapping New Cancer Vulnerabilities – CRISPR screening of organoids and spheroids expands the Cancer Dependency Map, revealing cancer vulnerabilities and molecular subtypes missed by traditional cell lines. Building Better Cancer Models – A large collection of next-generation cancer models captures much of the genetic and epigenetic diversity of patient tumors, creating a resource for studying cancer biology and treatment response. Modeling Heart Valve Disease – Human iPSC-derived valve assembloid models heart valve development and reveals how mechanical forces and fluid flow shape valve formation and disease. Heart Valves in the Lab – Stem cell-derived 3D heart valve tissues recapitulate key features of valve maturation and provide a human platform for studying inflammation and calcific valve disease. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Abdullah Khan. Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe