The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will appoint a planning committee to organize and convene a workshop on advances in micro-physiological systems (MPS). The purpose of the workshop is to promote discussion and understanding of progress made toward developing more physiologically realistic organs-on-chips (OOCs), particularly with regard to developing animal OOCs and sustainable animal chip banks. Presentations and discussions may explore the following topics and questions:

· What do emerging MPS or OOC technologies enable researchers to achieve that could not be achieved before these artificial biological platforms were developed? Which applications are currently most robust and reproducible?

· How can emerging OOCs or system biology technologies enable researchers to improve in vitro techniques as an alternative to using animal models?

· What are the current strategic goals to advance or improve upon these technologies, particularly as they pertain to reduction of the use of whole live animal models?

· What are the major technological hurdles or knowledge gaps to overcome in order to realize impacts on drug safety testing?

· What are the challenges and opportunities associated with educating and training traditional research scientists to use OOCs?

· What are the determining factors for translating the technologies used for human OOCs to animal OOCs and for creating sustainable animal chip banks?

The workshop presentations and discussions will be documented in a workshop proceedings authored by rapporteur(s) in accordance with National Academies guidelines.