A research team led by Georgia Institute of Technology has developed a lung-on-a-chip platform that incorporates a functioning immune system, marking a significant advancement in organ modeling technology. The study was co-directed by Ankur Singh, director of Georgia Tech’s Center for Immunoengineering, and Krishnendu “Krish” Roy, former Regents Professor at Georgia Tech and now dean of engineering at Vanderbilt University. Rachel Ringquist, who completed her doctoral work under Roy and is now a postdoctoral fellow with Singh, served as the study’s lead author.
The new device mimics the behavior of human lungs more closely than previous models by allowing blood and immune cells to circulate through vessel-like structures within the chip. This breakthrough enables researchers to observe how lungs respond to threats such as viral infections and how inflammation develops and resolves.
Singh described witnessing the immune response on the chip: “That was the ‘wow’ moment,” he said. “It was the first time we felt we had something close to a real human lung.”
Roy highlighted the significance of this innovation for disease research: “This unique lung-on-a-chip model opens new, preclinical pathways of discovery that will allow researchers to better understand the interplay of immune responses to severe viral infections and evaluate critical antiviral treatments.”
When exposed to a severe influenza virus infection, the chip demonstrated an immune response similar to what occurs in patients. Immune cells moved toward infected areas, inflammation spread through tissue, and defensive mechanisms were activated.
Singh noted: “That was when we realized this wasn’t just a model. It was capturing the real biology of disease.”
Traditionally, lung research has relied on animal models that do not always replicate human responses accurately. Singh commented on this limitation: “Five mice in a cage may respond the same way, but five humans won’t,” he explained. “Our chip can reflect that difference. That’s what makes it more accurate, and why it could dramatically reduce the need for animal models.”
Roy added: “The Food and Drug Administration’s strategic vision on reducing animal testing and developing predictive non-animal models aligns perfectly with our work. This device goes further than ever before in modeling human severe influenza and providing unprecedented insights into the complex lung immune response.”
Beyond influenza research, Singh and Roy believe their platform can be adapted for studies on asthma, cystic fibrosis, lung cancer, tuberculosis, and other diseases. They are also working on integrating additional immune organs into future chips.
Looking ahead, Singh envisions personalized medicine applications where chips built from individual patients’ cells could help determine which therapies would be most effective for them before treatment begins.
“Imagine knowing which treatment will help you before you ever take it,” Singh said. “That’s where we’re headed.”
The findings are published in Nature Biomedical Engineering (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-025-01491-9). The project received support from Wellcome Leap as well as funding from the National Institutes of Health, Carl Ring Family Endowment, and Marcus Foundation.
Georgia Tech postdoctoral researcher Rachel Ringquist led the study as first author.
