The University of Notre Dame has launched the Notre Dame Morphogenetic Bioengineering Initiative (ND-MBI), a cross-disciplinary program that links artificial intelligence and mechanistic bioengineering to better understand how cells communicate with each other to build, maintain, and repair our bodies. By creating “digital twins” that predict how cells will behave, this research aims to advance the development of treatments for wounds, cancer, and other diseases.
Aligned with and partially supported by the University’s Bioengineering & Life Sciences (BELS) Initiative, ND-MBI will serve as a collaborative hub. It brings together expertise from seven campus research centers and academic departments while partnering externally with the multi-university, National Science Foundation-funded, Purdue University-led EMBRIO Biology Integration Institute as well as the Interdisciplinary Center for Quantitative Modeling in Biology (ICQMB) at the University of California, Riverside.
ND-MBI integrates advanced imaging, organoid-based experimental models and predictive machine-learning frameworks to study multiscale biological dynamics in regenerative medicine and cancer biology.
“Despite major progress in molecular biology, the multi-scale dynamics connecting cellular mechanics to actual disease states remain poorly understood,” said Jeremiah Zartman, ND-MBI’s lead principal investigator and associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. “ND-MBI bridges this gap. Our ultimate scientific goal is to build computational ‘digital twins’—highly accurate, predictive models that interact with their physical counterpart—of these cellular pathways. By simulating how controlled adjustments redirect damaged cells back toward health, we can unlock actionable design principles for tissue regeneration and precision medicine.”
While Zartman’s research focuses on decoding the “symphony of signals” regulating cell behavior, ND-MBI co-principal investigator and associate professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, Donny Hanjaya-Putra harnesses this nuanced understanding of complex cell behavior to advance molecular therapies, regenerative medicine, disease modeling and drug delivery.
ND-MBI relies on complex, 3D tissue models to study how cells heal and grow. The Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine will support developing the specialized expertise in organoid models—lab-grown tissues—which will allow Hanjaya-Putra and other researchers to create reproducible new approach methodologies (NAMs) for drug screening and tissue regeneration.
“By fostering multidisciplinary collaboration, this new initiative will position Notre Dame at the forefront of NAMs research, which is well aligned with the FDA Modernization Act 2.0,” said Hanjaya-Putra.
To accelerate scientific and medical advances, ND-MBI will use a centralized data pipeline that connects several initiatives. Support from Notre Dame’s Harper Cancer Research Institute and the Warren Center for Drug Discovery will enable tests on how cells heal and grow. Leveraging the expertise and computational resources of the EMBRIO Institute and Notre Dame’s Scientific Artificial Intelligence (SAI) Initiative, researchers will use this data to build computer simulations that predict cell behavior and inform new medical treatments.
Training the next generation of researchers in this multidisciplinary field is a fundamental goal of the initiative. ND-MBI’s dual-mentorship program pairs student researchers from the Bioengineering Graduate Program and the EMBRIO institute with both biologists and AI modelers for a fully integrative approach to each discipline’s varied tools and skill sets.
Through its partnership with Notre Dame’s Berthiaume Institute for Precision Health (BIPH), ND-MBI will further develop regional industry connections. It and co-hosted a multi-university research symposium with the EMBRIO Institute in June 2026, with plans for a second symposium in 2027.