Webinar: Session 1: Harnessing liver-on-a-chip models for drug safety by LabX Media Group

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About This Webinar

Improving data translatability between preclinical testing and clinical applications is crucial for advancing drug safety assessment. A major challenge lies in enhancing the predictivity of standard toxicology workflows to better identify complex or species-specific toxicity risks. In this webinar, Emily Richardson will describe how liver microphysiological systems (MPS), also called liver-on-a-chip technology, can improve safety testing by providing greater physiological relevance, longevity, and cross-species insights to support research decisions and therapeutic development.

Topics to be covered:

Addressing workflow limitations with the routine use of human liver MPS in toxicology testing
Overcoming drug development challenges with insights provided by liver MPS
Leveraging species-specific MPS and mechanistic endpoints to improve data translatability and prevent misclassification of drugs

Presenters

Emily Richardson, PhD

Lead Scientist, CN Bio

Dr Emily Richardson is a Lead Scientist in the R&D team at CN Bio. She joined the team in 2020 as a Senior Scientist and lead the development of the PhysioMimix® lung and lung-liver MPS models. Emily is highly experienced in the application of complex cell biology to drug discovery, having previously worked in cellular therapeutics in an industry setting and as a trained biochemist with specialty in molecular biology. She completed her PhD at the University of Leicester, using 3D cell culture to determine molecular mechanisms driving highly metastatic lung cancers. She now leads R&D projects within the CN Bio team revolving around toxicology in the liver and the lung MPS, as well as driving collaborative projects with various academic, industry and regulatory partners.

Tomasz Kostrzewski, PhD

Chief Scientific Officer, CN Bio

Kostrzewski has over 15 years of experience in molecular and cellular biology research. He joined CN Bio in 2015 and was promoted to Director of Biology in 2018, leading biological model development and collaborative research with academia, pharmaceutical companies, and regulatory agencies. In 2021, he advanced to Vice President of Science and Technology and became Chief Scientific Officer in 2023, overseeing all technical activities, including new product, technology, and assay development, as well as contract research services. He has managed multiple grant-funded projects and currently leads a collaboration between CN Bio and the U.S. FDA. Prior to CN Bio, he worked at Imperial College London on immune cell development and stem cell differentiation and at GlaxoSmithKline in biopharmaceutical drug discovery. He holds three degrees in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Sheffield and Imperial College London.

Rhiannon Hardwick, PhD, DABT

Scientific Associate Director, Discovery Toxicology, Bristol Myers Squibb

Rhiannon Hardwick is a Scientific Director in Discovery Toxicology at Bristol Myers Squibb, where she leads an in vitro toxicology lab and serves as a project toxicologist for early discovery programs across therapeutic modalities. Her research focuses on applying complex in vitro models and microphysiological systems to identify and characterize toxicity liabilities and elucidate mechanisms of action. Hardwick earned her PhD in pharmacology and toxicology from the University of Arizona, studying how nonalcoholic fatty liver disease impacts drug metabolism and toxicity, and completed postdoctoral research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, focusing on liver zonation and drug transporter regulation. She has held roles at Organovo, advancing 3D bioprinted liver models, and at Theravance Biopharma, supporting non-oncology small molecule development through IND-enabling toxicology. Hardwick is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology, a guest lecturer at the University of Arizona, and serves on the Washington State University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Industry Advisory Board. She also represents Bristol Myers Squibb on the Innovation and Quality Consortium Microphysiological Systems Affiliate and serves on the European Organ-on-a-Chip Society Industrial Advisory Board.