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Breaking Down Barriers in Ciliary Beat Analysis

ERC PoC Grant for Janna Nawroth

Cilia are tiny hair-like structures that line our airways and reproductive system. Their rhythmic beating is essential for performing important physiological functions, such as clearing mucus from the lungs or transporting eggs in the fallopian tubes. Defects in ciliary beating can contribute to several debilitating diseases that affect millions of patients worldwide, e.g. chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia or infertility.

Unfortunately, current diagnostic methods are complex, time-consuming, limited in scope and require specialists for execution and analysis. Consequently, early detection and effective treatment of these diseases is hindered - a delay that can lead to irreversible tissue damage and missed opportunities for intervention.

To address these challenges and unlock the potential of ciliary beat analysis, PioneerCampus PI Janna Nawroth has been awarded a prestigious ERC Proof of Concept Grant for developing Ai4Cilia, an innovative AI-powered platform for analyzing ciliary beat abnormalities.

Ai4Cilia is based on a microfluidic chip that can sort and analyze hundreds of ciliated cells at a time and uses AI to identify disease-specific ciliary beat defects. As such, Ai4Cilia is

  • Rapid – as samples can be analyzed much faster than with current methods.
  • Reliable - as AI-powered analysis provides more objective and consistent results than manual assessments.
  • User-friendly – as the chip is easy to use and does not require specialized training.

As such, Ai4Cilia has the potential to unlock new frontiers in ciliary research and revolutionize patient care. By accelerating drug discovery, improving diagnostic accuracy, enabling personalized medicine, and providing researchers with a powerful new toolset, Ai4Cilia will pave the way for a deeper understanding of ciliary function and ultimately, improved health outcomes for millions.

Congratulations Janna to this well-deserved grant and recognition!


Link to ERC News