Using a microfluidic approach to develop the next generation of human inner ear organoids for translational research

Project ID: 2531bd1622

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Research Theme: Healthcare Technologies

Research Area(s): Engineering Biology
Microsystems
Vision, hearing, and other senses

UCL Lead department: Biochemical Engineering

Department Website

Lead Supervisor: Nicolas Szita

Project Summary:

Join an exciting, cross-disciplinary collaboration at UCL, uniting experts in Engineering and Brain Sciences to revolutionise how we model and study the human inner ear. This project aims to develop an advanced, microfluidic-enhanced human inner ear organoid (hIEO) system — a next-generation platform for understanding hearing loss and accelerating therapeutic discovery. You will:

  1. Engineer microfluidic systems that precisely control morphogen gradients to enhance organoid reproducibility.
  2. Optimise organoid growth in defined hydrogels to improve structure, maturation, and function.
  3. Apply single-cell transcriptomics and advanced imaging to assess cell diversity and hair-cell functionality.
  4. Design a scalable “Inner Ear-on-a-Chip” to enable high-throughput drug screening and ototoxicity testing. This ambitious, interdisciplinary project merges microfluidic engineering with stem-cell biology, integrating methods pioneered by Koehler and Hashino with cutting-edge chip technologies developed in the Szita Lab. Students will gain expertise in biomaterials, organoid culture, transcriptomics, and live-cell functional assays, using advanced hPSC reporter lines to explore drug and regenerative responses in real time. Supervised by Professor Nicolas Szita, a leader in microfluidics and bioprocess engineering, and Professor Jonathan Gale, an internationally recognised expert in auditory cell biology and regeneration, you will benefit from world-class mentorship at the intersection of engineering, biology, and healthcare innovation. Aligned with EPSRC’s Healthcare Technologies mission, this project delivers a disruptive, co-created platform that advances early diagnosis, drug discovery, and regenerative therapy development. It also contributes to EPSRC priority themes in Engineering Biology, Microsystems, and Vision, Hearing, and Other Senses, offering a unique opportunity to help shape the future of precision healthcare and sensory restoration.