Binghamton University researcher to aid innovative Mayo Clinic project to treat inflammatory diseases

Binghamton University will play a key role in a federal grant of up to $42.8 million to develop an implantable device that acts as a living pharmacy to treat inflammatory diseases. Mayo Clinic is the prime site for this groundbreaking research, and researchers at Binghamton will assist with bioengineering the transplanted cells.

Supporting the research is the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that funds potentially transformative biomedical and health breakthroughs.

Engage Assess SecretE (EASE): A Platform for Treating Chronic Inflammation aims to trigger a “cell factory” in the body that could treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Eventually, the hope is to use it for disorders related to an overactive immune system, such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis.

The EASE project brings together more than 15 investigators from the Mayo Clinic, the University of Minnesota, Case Western Reserve University, the University of Texas at Dallas, the University of California Davis, Binghamton University, and biotech companies EnLiSense and Sersense Inc. The team includes experts in cell encapsulation, biosensing, cell engineering, wound healing/dermatology, bioelectronics and manufacturing.

“I am very excited that this project has high societal impact and patient relevance. It represents a prime example of convergence science, where clinicians, biologists and engineers come together to produce a sophisticated solution to improve patient care,” said Alexander Revzin, a biomedical engineer and scientist at Mayo Clinic who is the principal investigator for EASE.

At Binghamton, Associate Professor Ahyeon Koh will focus on creating an electrode array to generate the oxygen needed to sustain the cells that produce the pharmaceutical reagents.

“Our research group aims to electrochemically generate oxygen to ensure the cells survive during implantation,” she said. “I’m responsible for developing the ‘cafeteria’ in the ‘factory,’ ensuring that they ‘eat’ properly.”

Koh — a faculty member in the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science’s Department of Biomedical Engineering — became part of the EASE project through BME Chair and Distinguished Professor Kaiming Ye, who made the connection between her and Revzin.

“Winning an NIH APAR-H grant is an outstanding recognition,” Ye said. “I am glad that Dr. Koh is part of the team led by Dr. Rezvin, a renowned biomedical engineer. She will have opportunities to work with the first-class investigators in the world to advance the treatment for inflammatory bowel disease through her innovative research in electro-oxygenators.”

As many as 70,000 Americans are diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease every year. Flare-ups can cause stomach cramps, diarrhea and rectal bleeding. With no cure, treatment is limited to easing symptoms.

Standard care for IBD has been monoclonal antibody treatment over the course of a year. That requires the patient to return to the clinic every two to eight weeks for an infusion. A recent study has shown that one in five patients routinely miss their dosage, which can increase the chance of relapse and lead to drug resistance.

Since arriving at Binghamton in 2016, Koh has pursued a variety of research topics, including “smart” bandages, wearable sweat sensors to detect medical issues and turning old CDs into flexible bioelectronics.

“This method is intended to treat bowel disease, but the whole platform is structured so that if the antibodies produced by the cells are altered, this might be used as a transformative treatment for other targeted diseases. The core ideas may be game-changing,” she said. “It’s a huge project, so the responsibility and pressure are also huge. The project team is very intelligent, though, so even while we were putting together the proposal, there were a lot of wonderful ideas.”

Koh calls the collaboration on the EASE project “an absolutely phenomenal experience.”

“Everyone has so much expertise in their own research areas — big minds working on a big project,” she said. “Having the opportunity to be involved is wonderful.”