In vitro disease modeling

Diseases occur in abnormal biological systems. In other words: a disease is referred to when an organism is not in homeostasis. Studying diseases in vivo is often challenging due to any and all confounders in a organism during disease onset and progression. To circumvent these systemic effects, diseases can be studies in an in vitro system in which the affected cells are isolated and studied without interference from other cell types. For our in vitro disease models, we use pluripotent stem cells to generate virtually unlimited amounts of cardiomyocytes or other cell types. Moreover, the use of induced pluripotent stem cells gives us the opportunity to study and manipulate patient-specific cardiomyocytes. Using these specific techniques, we can investigate various effects of specific mutations or aberrant culturing conditions in a completely controlled environment.