UMC Utrecht receives €2.3M grant to advance its generative, context-aware 3D bioprinting

09 December 2025

Riccardo Levato’s team at UMC Utrecht and Utrecht University receives an ERC Consolidator Grant of approx. €2.3M to advance the next phase of its innovative method of 3D bioprinting. 

The technique of 3D bioprinting of living tissues to recapitulate the structure and function of human organs has shown great promise in disease modelling, drug testing and regenerative medicine.

Supported by a 2020 ERC Starting Grant, Riccardo Levato’s team developed a modelling method termed Generative, Adaptive, Context-Aware 3D printing (GRACE). This groundbreaking technology was designed to tackle one of the biggest challenges in bioprinting, which is to improve survival and function of cells within the bioprinted construct.

The core principle of GRACE is a combination of several technologies - volumetric bioprinting, light sheet microscopy, computer vision algorithms and parametric modelling software. Volumetric printing is particularly advantageous for capturing the complex geometry of human organs. In contrast to traditional layer-by-layer printing, the volumetric printing method creates a complete structure without contact and in a single step, using a photo-responsive bioresin that polymerizes when exposed to visible light fields. A light-sheet fluorescence microscope maps the position of cells within the construct. Based on this data, the platform’s software autonomously makes and executes decisions on necessary adjustments, ultimately enhancing human-relevance and viability of 3D printed tissues. 

In demonstration of its ability to strategically place blood vessels around existing cell clusters, GRACE was combined with embedded extrusion‐volumetric printing to generate adaptive vascular-like architectures around toruses laden with insulin-secreting pancreatic cells. Compared to random non-targeted channels, GRACE-printed structures showed an increase in proinsulin secretion. 

The next phase of this research will determine how printed cells can mature to replicate the functionality of native tissues, using light-based synthetic biology and optogenetics to precisely stimulate gene and protein activity.  

The upcoming milestone involves creating a vascularized human pancreas model that mimics natural hormone secretion. This model will be particularly valuable for investigating human endocrine diseases and developing treatments for diabetes.

“I am very confident that we will succeed in the creation of such a model”, Riccardo Levato said. But the goal of the project is broader. “We aim to develop a roadmap for the creation of vascularised tissues, of any type. Including a 3D printer that guides cells as they grow and develop.”