The Shiwarski Tissue Engineering Lab is honored to receive a 2026 Single Ventricle Research Fund (SVRF) Award from Additional Ventures. Our project, “Advancing Fontan Patient Longevity Through Mechanistic Insights into Liver Dysfunction and Thrombosis Using 3D Bioprinted Model Systems,” was selected as one of fifteen teams in this year’s cohort and joins an outstanding group of investigators advancing the next generation of single ventricle heart disease research.

This award continues the work we began under our Additional Ventures Expansion Award and builds on our earlier participation in the Additional Ventures Cures Collaborative. We are grateful to extend this partnership as we pursue a cure for single ventricle disease, now turning our focus to Fontan-associated liver disease (FALD) using engineered model systems and induced pluripotent stem cells. Our project also contributes to a coordinated Additional Ventures effort bringing together hemodynamics, tissue engineering, and multi-organ modeling to understand FALD.

The project is a collaboration between the Shiwarski Tissue Engineering Lab and two exceptional co-investigators. Dr. Anita Saraf, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) and Pediatrics, brings expertise in congenital heart disease and patient-derived iPSC models of NOTCH1 mutations in single ventricle patients. Dr. Alejandro Soto-Gutierrez, MD, PhD, Professor of Pathology and Director of the Center for Transcriptional Medicine, brings deep expertise in liver regenerative medicine and iPSC-derived human liver models. Together, our teams span the cardiac, vascular, and hepatic biology at the heart of FALD.

Our approach integrates FRESH 3D bioprinting with our CHIPS and VAPOR platform and HemoLens hemodynamic simulation to recreate the liver’s sinusoidal architecture and Fontan blood flow. Using patient-derived iPSCs, we will interrogate how elevated pressure, reduced flow, and NOTCH1 mechanotransduction drive hepatic fibrosis, loss of zonation, and the prothrombotic environment that threatens Fontan patient longevity.

We also extend sincere thanks to the outstanding administrative teams within the Vascular Medicine Institute, whose dedication makes this work possible. In particular, we thank Erica Carson and Andrea Hecker, who are just as motivated as our research teams to make real progress toward a cure for single ventricle disease.

Fifteen Research Teams Selected for 2026 Single Ventricle Research Fund Award