A new interdisciplinary initiative from the School of Biomedical Engineering at the University of British Columbia—co-led by Dr. Govind Kaigala, Dr. Sarah Hedtrich, and Dr.Megan Levings—is set to transform how researchers model human disease and develop therapies. CONNECT: Collaborative Organ-on-Chip Network for Next-Generation Engineering and Cellular Technology has been launched to advance New Approach Methodologies (NAMs), with the aim to reduce reliance on animal testing while improving the precision and relevance of human health research.
CONNECT brings together biomedical engineers, clinicians, researchers, and industry partners to address key barriers that have limited the adoption of NAMs, including fragmented expertise, lack of standardized workflows, and restricted access to advanced technologies. By building shared infrastructure, training programs, and collaborative pipelines, the cluster will expand the feasibility and impact of organoids, organs-on-chip, and advanced biodevices in drug screening, disease modeling, and therapeutic discovery.
“CONNECT is about unlocking the full potential of human-relevant models by bringing together the right expertise and infrastructure,” said Govind Kaigala, co-lead of the cluster. “By creating a collaborative ecosystem, we can accelerate innovation, improve reproducibility, and ultimately deliver better, more predictive tools for human health.”
The CONNECT initiative will run several courses, workshops and activities to establish best practices for integrating emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and digital twins into biomedical research, with the aim of positioning UBC as a leader in NAM-driven precision health.
CONNECT is one of 43 Research Excellence Clusters being supported at UBC Vancouver in 2026/27 through the Grants for Catalyzing Research Clusters (GCRC) competition. This includes 26 new clusters funded this year and 17 continuing into their second year. These clusters unite researchers across disciplines to tackle complex societal and cultural challenges through collaborative, boundary-crossing approaches.
CONNECT reflects the School of Biomedical Engineering’s commitment to advancing innovative, human-centered solutions in health research.