Lemelson Finalist creating biological organs using stem cell technology

As an undergrad at the University of Central Greece in 2006, Eleni Antoniadou remembers presenting the concept of bionic prosthetics at a biomedical engineering conference. She also remembers the response — her research was viewed as if it were more science fiction than actual science.

“A lot of people were scared of it because they didn’t have the educational background to understand how these concepts work,” Antoniadou said. “Then I moved on to creating real living tissues and organs, that was even more scary for people that were not comfortable with stem cell research technology.”

But five years later, the “sci fi” concepts became reality for Antoniadou when she was part of a team of doctors and scientists that completed the first successful artificial tracheal transplantation on a patient suffering from tracheal cancer, a patient who was told he had just two months to live.

“Now this patient is alive,” Antoniadou said. “He can go back to his normal life, work, have a family and really move on without having to be considered a person with special needs, a person that’s a patient for the rest of his life.”

Antoniadou, now a PhD candidate in bioengineering at Illinois, was named a finalist for the prestigious Lemelson Illinois award and hopes she can continue to improve and save lives through her work by creating artificial, yet biological, organs using stem cell technology.

“When we were creating prosthetic body parts, I always felt there was a limit to this field,” she said. “Although you would replace the functionality — a patient would again have an arm, would be able to grasp things and have a normal life — it would also make them feel that they have some sort of disability. They would never feel that they’re equal with everybody else. I was always feeling that there has to be a way to create real tissues and recreate organs. That’s what drove me to this next step.”

Antoniadou, originally from Thessaloniki, Greece, has been involved with numerous projects as a student in Europe and at Illinois. In addition to helping complete the first artificial tracheal transplantation, she also programed and created the software for the Da Vinci minimally invasive robotic system, a mechanical arm that can be controlled by a surgeon to perform operations remotely, and helped develop an inexpensive telemonitoring cardiograph for developing countries.

“It’s about giving,” she said. “You’re able to give an alternative solution to people that have none, people that have already tried every alternative pathway that is available.”

Right now, Antoniadou said scientists can successfully recreate organs that do not have very high functional operation such as arteries, nerves, skin, noses and ears, but that it’s very difficult to simulate the complex operations of organs like lungs, kidneys and hearts; however, she is optimistic that in the near future, maybe 30 years from now, it will be possible and potentially a wide-spread, accepted science.

For Antoniadou, however, there’s another added benefit to her research. She hopes to put an end to illicit organ trading that is on the rise in third world countries by creating an alternative that will limit the need for real organs.

“It’s really devastating to see small children that have been abducted, they have been left with one kidney, or their skin or other vital organs have been removed,” she said. “This should have ended years ago but the politics and every other force in society haven’t been able to stop the crime. But now, the scientific community can provide an alternative.”

Antoniadou acknowledged that many people have ethical concerns with the use of embryonic stem cells in her field, but she believes the research is going to revolutionize modern medicine.

“I’m a huge supporter of stem cell research and this should be approved legally for clinical use just like it is in Europe,” she said. “That would really benefit everyone and of course, we need a strong legal frame so that everybody is working under the same restrictions.”  

In about a year, Antoniadou hopes to receive her PhD from Illinois, but her work in the biomedical engineering field won’t stop there. She hopes to continue working in the field as a post-doc.

“I’m very happy because I’m doing what I love,” Antoniadou said. “I’m studying exactly what I love to study, which is why I have such a strong passion for it.”

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Writer: Chad Thornburg, Engineering Communications Office.

If you have any questions about the College of Engineering, or other story ideas, contact Mike Koon, editor, Engineering Communications Office, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 217/244-1256.