Modeling Virus Evolution And Rapid Drug Repurposing With A Human Airway Lung-Chip

The rapid evolution of viruses like influenza and SARS-CoV-2 challenges researchers in developing antivirals, vaccines, and repurposing drugs. Traditional models using animals or culture dishes struggle to accurately represent human responses, often failing to predict human outcomes for infections and treatments.

In this presentation, we introduce the human Airway Lung-Chip, which can model influenza virus infection and evolution in vitro and evaluate therapeutics for both influenza and SARS-CoV-2. Studies show that the Lung-Chip accurately replicates influenza virus evolution through mutation or gene re-assortment. These capabilities enable researchers to stay ahead of evolving viral strains, repurpose existing drugs for new diseases, and discover new therapeutics.