The Potential of Cardiac Organoids and Stem Cells — Dr. Oscar Abilez
In this interview, Dr. Oscar Abilez shares his journey from mechanical engineering to medicine and research, highlighting his current work at Stanford developing cardiac organoids from pluripotent stem cells. He explains how these miniature, lab-grown heart tissues are created and discusses their potential to support future treatments for congenital heart conditions. Dr. Abilez also reflects on the promise of regenerative medicine in the years ahead.
For those interested in reading more about Dr. Abilez’s work, please see a selection of his publications below:
From bench to business: translating academic advances into industry innovations. Development (Cambridge, England). Abilez, O. J., Javali, A., Jones, J., Rellan-Alvarez, R., Sozzani, R., Tzahor, E. 2025; 152 (13)
Developing advanced organoids: challenges, progress, and outlook. BioTechniques. Abilez, O. J. 2025: 1-6
Blood vessels in a dish: the evolution, challenges, and potential of vascularized tissues and organoids. Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine. Nwokoye, P. N., Abilez, O. J. 2024; 11: 1336910
Bioengineering methods for vascularizing organoids. Cell reports methods. Nwokoye, P. N., Abilez, O. J. 2024: 100779
Engineered heart tissues and induced pluripotent stem cells: Macro- and microstructures for disease modeling, drug screening, and translational studies. Advanced drug delivery reviews. Tzatzalos, E., Abilez, O. J., Shukla, P., Wu, J. C. 2016; 96: 234-244
