Faculty of Arts and Humanities

Western University researchers have received more than $1.5 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) to fund advanced technologies in eight projects that address solutions Canadians need for environmental, economic and health challenges. Among the projects receiving funding is a 4D imaging system for organoid research – not only the first of its kind in London, Ont., but the only one like it in Southwestern Ontario. The funding comes through the John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF), a core CFI stream that provides up to 40 per cent of the costs for labs and equipment to ensure universities recruit and retain top researchers. Van Lu, a member of the physiology and pharmacology department at Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, received more than $322,000 for the 4D imaging system. The high-tech microscope and camera system to be housed at Western can image complex biological systems in extraordinary detail, offering researchers unprecedented insight into how tissues develop and disease unfolds. Lu worked with fellow Schulich Medicine & Dentistry professors Dean Betts and Dr. Julio Martinez-Trujillo to give researchers across disciplines access to this cutting-edge technology. The 4D imaging system is expected to accelerate discoveries in cancer, reproductive health, bowel disease, neuroscience and precision medicine. “We wanted to take the lead on bringing this equipment to Western, so a wide range of organoid researchers can benefit,” Lu said.  

Advanced 4D imaging technology supports organoid research across Western

Lu, Betts and Martinez-Trujillo collaborate in a research group that studies simplified versions of human organs, known as organoids. These miniature organs, grown in a lab based on human tissues, measure about one millimetre in diameter at most. Though small, the 3D models form all the basic components an organ needs to start developing outside of a living organism. Using organoids instead of animal models in preclinical studies improves the likelihood of successful treatments that can be moved into clinical trials. “It’s precision medicine. We can generate many different organoids based on a sample of tissue, test a range of therapeutics or drugs and determine which treatment a person responds to best,” Lu said. Lu’s organoid research is revealing more about conditions such as colon cancer and inflammatory bowel disease by focusing on gastrointestinal tract development and how it senses nutrients. Betts aims to improve in vitro fertilization outcomes by examining how human stem cell-derived embryo models develop. Martinez-Trujillo is studying how brain stem cells form the earliest stages of neural connections in organoids to better understand neurodevelopmental diseases. The new 4D imaging system will allow researchers to simultaneously examine hundreds of organoids as they develop over the course of weeks or months, instead of analyzing only three-dimensional static images. The system will significantly improve the team’s ability to accurately model living systems by revealing how cells respond to their environment, how they communicate and how diseases begin and progress. “The advantage is its capacity to capture 3D images over a long period of time, which is necessary because organoids take several weeks to develop,” Lu said. “We can see in real time where the cells we’ve labelled have moved, how many more appear and how they change when we apply a certain treatment.”  

AI-powered 4D imaging system positions Western as a hub for organoid research

The system includes an incubator to keep the cells growing. Robotics are used to image tissue samples around the clock, while AI built into the system tracks cell changes as they occur. The automation of numerous processes eliminates tedious, repetitive tasks humans can’t do, while allowing multiple researchers to use the system at the same time. The infrastructure will expand Western’s research impact in biotherapeutics, neuroscience and developmental biology. Though the 4D imaging system will be installed at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry, it will be available to researchers across Western and its affiliated institutes, bringing together diverse organoid research programs and positioning Western as a hub for organoid research in London, Ont. “It took a lot of research and development to establish organoids. Now, we’re taking the next step – making organoid models more widely available to researchers,” Lu said. “That could spark new therapies, allow them to be tested relatively quickly and deepen our understanding of the fundamental biology behind cell development.” The announcement of the CFI funding comes two weeks after Western researchers received millions of dollars in new grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Learn more about how Western is optimizing health for all.  

Other JELF funded projects at Western

Laura Fitzgibbon-Collins, Faculty of Health Sciences Dynamic cerebral hemodynamics and functional aging: Portable monitoring for precision interventions

Portable equipment that measures brain blood flow during standing and walking will test whether reductions during everyday upright activities are an early marker of cognitive decline and dementia, with attention to differences between men and women.

Megan Roberts, Faculty of Science Infrastructure to enable the development of functional and degradable polymer systems

New infrastructure will support the development of renewable and biodegradable polymers and biomedical hydrogels, creating a shared research platform across chemistry, engineering and life sciences for applications in sustainable materials and medicine.

Jackson Two Bears, Faculty of Arts and Humanities E4 Lab: Kahionhaktà:tye

A new Western University research space will explore sustainability through Indigenous knowledge, land-based practices and computing tools such as AI workflows, 3D clay printing and low-emission kilns.

Bing Li, Faculty of Engineering Rock mechanics for climate change mitigation and resilience

New testing infrastructure will measure how rock withstands long-term environmental stress from climate change, using the data to train machine learning models that help engineers design and assess infrastructure under changing conditions.

Mike Pyne, Faculty of Science Infrastructure for microbial synthetic biology and biomanufacturing

Researchers will engineer yeast to produce sustainable nylons, plant-based pharmaceuticals and natural insect repellents from renewable feedstocks instead of petroleum, building a platform for Canada’s bioeconomy.

Kayla Fewster, Faculty of Health Sciences Infrastructure for spine mechanics research and injury prevention

A materials testing system will support the study of how sub-failure loading – everyday movements not forceful enough to cause immediate injury – damages spinal tissue and contributes to low back pain.

Grace Parraga, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry 129Xe Magnetic resonance imaging to detect and quantify the reversal of abnormal remodeling in airways disease

Upgrades to infrastructure will sustain validated software pipelines, measurements and markers used by Parraga’s team to improve health outcomes for patients with asthma and COPD. The research will also develop new therapies, reduce costs to the health-care system and train more respiratory imaging experts.