Lab-Grown Living Models of the Heart Valve for Future Medical Breakthroughs

Professor Jelena Rnjak Kovacina, University of New South Wales

Vanguard Grant

Years funded: 2026 - 2028

This project aims to create lab-grown models of heart valves that closely mimic the real thing, using advanced materials and robotics. These models will help us understand heart valve diseases better and develop new treatments. Heart valve disease is a major health issue worldwide, affecting millions of people and leading to severe health problems and high mortality rates. Aortic stenosis, a condition where the heart valve becomes thickened and stiff, obstructs blood flow and can lead to heart failure and sudden death. The primary treatment is to replace the damaged valve with a bioprosthetic valve made from animal tissue. However, these valves often fail due to structural deterioration caused by immune responses, inflammation, and mechanical stress. This failure, known as structural valve deterioration (SVD), occurs in about 13.9% of patients within five years, highlighting the need for better understanding and new treatments. Existing models to study heart valve diseases are limited. Small animal models, like rodents, do not naturally develop these diseases and require genetic modification or physical injury to simulate them. Large animal models, such as pigs, are expensive and do not fully capture the disease's complexity. Current lab models do not accurately replicate the structure and mechanical forces of real heart valves, which are crucial for their function. To address these challenges, our project will develop patient-specific, physiologically relevant models of heart valves in the lab by combining recent advances in biomimetic materials and soft robotics. First, we will create living heart valve leaflets by growing heart valve cells on specially designed silk materials that replicate the structure of aortic valve leaflets. Next, we will develop a soft robotic system using artificial muscle fibres to simulate the movement of heart valve leaflets. This system will be integrated with the living leaflets in a bioreactor, creating a dynamic model that mimics the opening and closing of heart valves.

Finally, we will use this advanced model to study how heart valve diseases develop and test potential drug treatments. By providing a more accurate and realistic model of heart valves, this project aims to improve our understanding of valve biology and pathology, including the biomechanical contributions to heart valve disease progression and potential drug interventions. This innovative approach has the potential to revolutionise how we study and treat heart valve diseases, leading to significant medical breakthroughs and improved patient outcomes.