Video Poster Presentation: Bioprinted multicellular microenvironments to accelerate immunotherapy discovery in pancreatic cancer

Presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Meeting 2026

Presented by Matthieu Spriet, Scientist, Inventia Life Science

Aji Istadi^1,2, Ali McCorkindale^3*, Silvia Lombardi^1,2, Inna Navarro^1,2, Diego Chacon-Fajardo^1,2, Henry Barraclough-Franks^1,2, David Hermann^1,2, Sean Porazinski³, Marco Herold⁴, Paul Timpson^1,2, Greg Neely⁵, Marina Pajic^1,2

1. The Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst, NSW Australia. Corresponding author: a.istadi@garvan.org.au

2. St Vincent’s Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney, NSW Australia

3. Inventia Life Science, Alexandria, NSW Australia. * Presenting author.

4. Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, Austin Hospital, VIC Australia

5. Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW Australia

Pancreatic cancer is shaped by more than tumor cells alone. Cancer-associated fibroblasts, extracellular matrix, and immune cells can influence tumor growth, immune infiltration, and treatment response.

In this video poster presentation, Inventia scientist Matthieu Spriet PhD walks through research led by Aji Istadi and colleagues at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. The team developed a multicellular 3D pancreatic cancer model incorporating KPC cancer cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts, and cytotoxic T cells.

Using RASTRUM Allegro, the researchers investigated tumor cell growth, fibroblast activation, immune-cell infiltration, and T cell-mediated cancer cell killing within a defined 3D matrix environment.

See how the team built complexity into the model step by step, from tumor cell growth and stromal activation to immune-cell infiltration and functional cancer cell killing.

The presentation covers:

• Growth and morphology of KPC pancreatic cancer cells in RASTRUM matrices
• Activation and sustained growth of cancer-associated fibroblasts
• Single-cell RNA sequencing comparisons between the 3D models and KPC pancreatic tumors
• Imaging and quantification of cytotoxic T cell infiltration
• The effect of cancer-associated fibroblasts on T cell-mediated cancer cell killing
  
  

Poster

Prefer to review the workflow, figures, and results in detail?

Download the AACR 2026 scientific poster for the complete study overview, including model characterization, molecular profiling, and treatment response data.