BOSTON– Emulate, Inc., a leading provider of next-generation in vitro models, today announced the promotion of Lorna Ewart, PhD, to Chief Scientific Officer. In this role, Dr. Ewart will continue to provide strategic guidance and oversight for the company’s scientific vision, partner with government agencies in an effort to achieve regulatory acceptance, and expand collaborations with key customers to advance the field of organ-on-a-chip technology.
“Dr. Ewart has played a pivotal role in expanding our organ model and application portfolio across brain physiology, inflammatory intestinal diseases, and toxicological assessment—all while leading our Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the FDA,” said Emulate CEO Jim Corbett. “In this new role, Dr. Ewart will assist in moving the technology beyond drug discovery and development through collaborations within cosmetics, personalized medicine, and more. This promotion is well deserved and reflects her relentless commitment to the scientific advancement of innovative technologies that improve the health outcomes of people around the world.”
Dr. Ewart is also a strong proponent of alternatives to animal testing due to inherent species differences and high rate of translational failures. “Organ-on-a-chip technology can help us meet the need for more human-relevant predictive models to assess therapeutic modalities,” said Dr. Ewart. “In time, I anticipate that routine adoption of organ-chips will positively disrupt the drug discovery and development process by improving patient safety and reducing the number of animals used.”
A classically trained pharmacologist, Dr. Ewart spent 20 years at AstraZeneca, where she successfully established and led the Microphysiological Systems Centre of Excellence within the R&D Biopharmaceuticals Unit. Throughout her tenure at AstraZeneca, Dr. Ewart held additional roles of increasing responsibility, including Director of Toxicology Projects (Respiratory, Inflammation and Autoimmune). She obtained her honors degree at the University of Aberdeen and her PhD at the William Harvey Research Institute in London. She is a frequent author on publications showcasing the applicability of organ-on-a-chip technology, a sought-after keynote speaker at conferences surrounding the advancement of alternative methods, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and British Pharmacological Society.
“Being able to participate in the advancement of organ-chip technology and lead the scientific team at Emulate energizes me,” said Dr. Ewart. “I am particularly excited about the company’s investment in large-scale studies that demonstrate Organ-Chips’ predictive superiority to animal and traditional in vitro models. Emulate continues to bring this game-changing technology to the forefront, giving researchers the tools they need to understand the mechanisms of disease and better determine treatment options.”
