Los Angeles, CA – October 2, 2026 - The Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI) has been awarded a contract worth up to $19.8 million under the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) PRINT program to lead a multi-institution effort to engineer transplantable, immune-compatible liver tissue. Dr. Xiling Shen, Principal Investigator and Acting Director, will lead the project, aimed at easing donor scarcity and the lifelong immunosuppression that transplant patients require today.
The need is significant: nearly 25,000 people were on the U.S. liver transplant waiting list in 2020, and only about 38 percent received an organ. Transplantation remains the only cure for many patients with end-stage liver disease, but the shortage of donor organs makes it inaccessible for thousands.
The initiative, “Prometheus”, takes its name from the Greek Titan whose liver was said to regenerate daily, a myth long tied to the organ's regenerative capacity. Funded under ARPA-H's PRINT program, directed by Program Manager Dr. Ryan Spitler, the project centers on engineering a universal, immune-compatible liver cell source, derived from allogeneic hypoimmunogenic induced pluripotent stem cells, and combining it with cost-effective, scalable bioreactor culture methods and porous bed bioprinting to assemble that source into functional, transplantable liver tissue.
"This award allows us to bring together bioengineering, stem cell biology, and transplant medicine to build a liver that doesn't require a donor match," said Dr. Xiling Shen. “It's a step toward making organ replacement scalable rather than scarce."
Supporting Dr. Xiling Shen on Prometheus is a team of Terasaki faculty includes: Dr. Johnson V. John, Assistant Professor, who is developing 3D-printing methods to build the structural and vascular components needed to support the tissue after transplantation; Dr. Vadim Jucaud, Assistant Professor, who is working to establish perfusion through that architecture so the tissue can receive oxygen and nutrients; and Dr. Menekse Ermis Sen, Terasaki Fellow, who is developing the cell-manufacturing methods used to grow and scale the tissue's biological components.
The project brings together co-investigators across multiple disciplines and institutions. "PROMETHEUS connects discoveries across traditionally separate fields into a unified approach to liver replacement," said Dr. Shuibing Chen, from Weill Cornell Medicine. "This collaboration gives us an opportunity to turn bold scientific ideas into solutions that could meaningfully change the lives of patients."
"A major challenge in developing off-the-shelf engineered tissues is creating a cell source that can evade immune rejection across different patients," said Dr. Xiaojun Lance Lian, The Pennsylvania State University.
On the industry side, Pluristyx is supplying the induced pluripotent stem cell lines that serve as Prometheus's starting cell source. "We are thrilled to support the Terasaki Institute and colleagues as they address the critical shortage of transplantable livers via this ARPA-H program," said Dr. Benjamin Fryer, CEO of Pluristyx. "Our iPSCs are purposefully supplied in a genetically engineered, pre-expanded, and quality-controlled and are available in an immune-cloaked format, to enable the massive scale of manufacturing required to build replacement liver tissue and treat the many liver failure patients who have no other option. By incorporating our patient centric safety switch (FailSafe®) Prometheus liver tissues from the Terasaki led team can provide a safe, durable and universal liver replacement without need for tissue matching or dangerous long-term immunosuppression. "
Beyond building the tissue, the team must also prove its functions after transplantation. "Engineering a liver is only the beginning; proving that it works after transplantation is the decisive challenge," said Jerzy W. Kupiec-Weglinski, M.D., Ph.D., Terasaki Professor of Surgery at UCLA. "At UCLA, we will transplant bioprinted liver tissues into laboratory models and evaluate their engraftment, function, and regenerative capacity, helping transform the promise of bioprinting into a practical solution for organ failure and donor organ scarcity."
Additional collaborators include Washington University in St. Louis, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, and Rice University, reflecting the Terasaki Institute's commitment to translational research.
Prometheus could establish a scalable, donor-independent path to liver replacement, easing a shortage that today leaves thousands of patients without options and reducing the lifelong burden of immunosuppression for those who do receive a transplant.
The project builds upon the legacy of TIBI founder Dr. Paul I. Terasaki, whose development of donor-recipient compatibility testing transformed organ transplantation and continues to guide the Institute's research.
This research was funded, in part, by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Government.
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Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation
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About the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation
The Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation is a non-profit research organization that invents and fosters practical solutions that restore or enhance the health of individuals. The Institute aims to enhance the quality of human life through translational research and the acceleration of biomedical innovation. TIBI's research focuses on the development of biomaterials, cellular and tissue engineering, medical devices, and microfluidic systems.