This project titled “Modular Joint-on-a-Chip for Early In Vitro Pre-clinical Pharmaceutical Research,” is supported by a National Science Foundation Partnerships for Innovation-Technology Transfer award, to develop a Microphysiological Articular Joint In a Chip (MAJIC) system to model the multi-tissue architecture and function of human articular joints in a microfluidic platform for drug screening and preclinical assessment.
The Wood lab applies tissue engineering strategies, microfabrication, and mechanobiology to create a platform that captures the interplay between chondrocytes, extracellular matrix, and mechanical stimuli, with the goal of improving translational predictivity for therapeutics targeting joint diseases such as osteoarthritis.
The MAJIC approach integrates Wood’s expertise in 3D printing, biomaterials, biomechanics, cell culture, and fluorescence and atomic force microscopy to create a controlled, modular microenvironment that recapitulates key biomechanical and biochemical cues of the joint. By incorporating multiple tissue types and fluidic connectivity, the system is intended to reproduce physiological loading, interfacial interactions, and soluble factor exchange that influence chondrocyte behavior and tissue responses. This modularity allows components to be reconfigured or scaled to match specific research or drug screening needs and supports iterative refinement for both mechanistic studies and early-stage pharmaceutical evaluation.
A central scientific objective of the project is to model integrin-mediated mechanotransduction and cytoskeletal regulation in chondrocytes under physiologically relevant mechanical loading. Wood’s prior work on the homeostatic role of the chondrocyte cytoskeleton and integrin signaling informs device design and biomarker selection. The MAJIC platform is meant to enable quantitative assays of cellular responses—such as redox signaling, kinase activation, and matrix remodeling—under defined mechanical and biochemical perturbations, bridging gaps between simplified in vitro models and complex in vivo systems.
Beyond academic inquiry, an emphasis of the PFI-TT award is technology transfer and translational utility. The project includes development of a device that can be adopted by industry and regulatory partners for early preclinical screening, reducing reliance on animal models and providing higher-throughput, human-relevant data to inform go/no-go decisions. Patents and design disclosures listed in Wood’s scholarly activity indicate active protection and commercialization pathways for a biomimetic joint-on-a-chip and related microfluidic platforms, supporting potential uptake by pharmaceutical developers and contract research organizations.
