Magdalena Kasendra, PhD

I am director of research & development at the Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM) at Cincinnati Children’s. My work focuses on advancing human-relevant platforms for drug discovery, predictive toxicology, regenerative medicine and precision health.

I lead multidisciplinary programs spanning organoid-based therapeutics, advanced in vitro systems and translational platform development. I also direct the CuSTOM Accelerator, an innovation hub focused on translating organoid and organ-on-chip technologies into standardized, scalable and deployable solutions for academia, industry and future clinical use. My work brings together stem cell biology, bioengineering, automation, AI-enabled analytics and regulatory-aligned development to accelerate adoption of human-relevant systems across research and drug development. This includes both organoid-based platforms for predictive modeling and safety assessment, as well as development of organoid-derived tissues and cellbased therapies for regenerative applications.

I am motivated by the belief that scientific breakthroughs have the greatest impact when they move beyond the lab into real-world use. My team focuses on addressing challenges in bench-to-bedside translation by developing robust, reproducible organoid platforms designed to better predict human biology, therapeutic response and patient outcomes.

Before joining CuSTOM, I led the intestine-chip program at Emulate, Inc., where I worked with multidisciplinary teams to develop, translate and commercialize organ-on-chip technologies. This work advanced bioengineered human intestinal tissue systems and supported applications in disease modeling, drug development, toxicology and precision medicine.

My career spans academia, biotechnology and translational innovation. I completed a Marie Curie industrial PhD in cell biology at the University of Bologna in collaboration with Novartis, followed by postdoctoral research at Harvard Medical School and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. I have authored publications and patents and contribute to international efforts advancing stem cell–derived models and nextgeneration human-relevant technologies.

Visit CuSTOM Accelerator Lab.