De-Risking Human Organoids for Drug Discovery & Development

Explore how human organoid models are being de-risked for drug discovery and development. Dr. Magdalena Kasendra covers advances in pluripotent stem cell-derived models, fully automated high-throughput systems, and AI-powered real-time imaging for analysis and monitoring. Learn how immune cell–liver organoid co-cultures are enabling more predictive assessment of adverse drug reactions.

Human organoid models have the potential to transform drug discovery by offering human-relevant platforms for high-throughput screening (HTS), toxicological profiling, and target validation. However, realizing this potential requires more than biologically complex models. Successful implementation depends on overcoming challenges related to scalability, standardization, reproducibility, and integration into drug discovery workflows.

In this webinar, Dr. Magdalena Kasendra explores how her team is addressing these challenges by developing automated, AI-enabled human pluripotent stem cell-derived organoid platforms designed for drug discovery and development. She describes an end-to-end framework developed at CuSTOM Accelerator that combines standardized hPSC differentiation and organoid production, high-throughput automation, population-scale stem cell resources including iPSC biobanks, and machine learning to improve the predictive performance and operational readiness of advanced in vitro models. The presentation also highlights how immune cell–liver organoid co-culture systems are enabling more accurate prediction of patient-specific adverse drug reactions and supporting the broader adoption of organoid-based new approach methodologies (NAMs).

Key Topics:

Why conventional preclinical models often fail to predict human drug responses and how organoid models can help bridge this gap
Strategies for standardizing and automating pluripotent stem cell-derived organoid production for scalable drug discovery
How AI-powered imaging and machine learning improve real-time monitoring, quality control, and toxicity prediction
Using genetically diverse induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) biobanks to capture patient variability in preclinical testing
How immune cell–liver organoid co-cultures can model idiosyncratic and immune-mediated drug-induced liver injury (iDILI) and patient-specific adverse drug responses
The role of multidisciplinary collaboration in translating organoid platforms into validated, industry-ready NAMs

Speaker Biography

Magdalena Kasendra, PhD
Director of Research and Development, Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM) at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Magdalena Kasendra is an internationally recognized leader in organoid biology, microphysiological systems (MPS), and new approach methodologies (NAMs). She serves as Director of Research and Development at the Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM) at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital where she leads the CuSTOM Accelerator, a first-of-its-kind innovation hub translating organoid and organ-on-chip technologies into deployable research tools, commercial platforms, and future clinical applications. Her work advances human-relevant models for drug discovery, toxicity prediction, and regenerative medicine. Dr. Kasendra is a Founding Executive Board Member of the International Microphysiological Systems Society (iMPSS) and a Steering Committee Member of the ISSCR Consortium on Advanced Stem Cell-Based Models.

Publish Date: September 21, 2026

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Webinar: De-Risking Human Organoids for Drug Discovery & Development

Explore how human organoid models are being de-risked for drug discovery and development. Dr. Magdalena Kasendra covers advances in pluripotent stem cell-derived models, fully automated high-throughput systems, and AI-powered real-time imaging for analysis and monitoring. Learn how immune cell–liver organoid co-cultures are enabling more predictive assessment of adverse drug reactions.

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