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In the face of tightening National Institutes of Health (NIH) budgets, the agency has launched a bold new initiative: to expand innovative, human-based research models while reducing reliance on animal testing. This shift aligns seamlessly with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recent commitment to accelerating alternatives to animal models in drug development and disease research.

At UC San Diego, we are not only ready—we are already there.

Established in 2019, UC San Diego’s HUMANOID (Human Multi-Omic Atlas Network for Organoid and Integrated Discovery) is a national leader in developing next-generation human models of disease. Housed within the UC San Diego Institute for Network Medicine and supported by three transdisciplinary centers, HUMANOID is pioneering a new class of biologically faithful disease avatars: trademarked HUMANOID™ systems—miniature, precision-engineered models built by humans, from humans, for humans.

These models don’t just replicate disease—they help us understand it, treat it, and ultimately, prevent it. Acting as a living biobank, HUMANOID empowers investigators to explore pathogenesis and therapeutic response across a range of human diseases using patient-derived organoids co-cultured with primary cells. With deep expertise in organoid biology, gene editing, single-cell multi-omics, imaging, and machine learning, HUMANOID is uniquely positioned to decode complex disease mechanisms at scale.

And now, with NIH calling for a pivot to human-relevant systems, UC San Diego’s HUMANOID™ Center is placing the campus—and the scientific community—at the forefront of that transformation.       

Explore our HUMANOID™ systems, FAQs, and find out more about our Voucher Program (see below) to jump-start your next breakthrough.

The future of research is human. And at UC San Diego, it’s already happening.

HUMANOID™ operates by a clearly defined ethos rooted in the principles of disruption through innovation, open science and collective progress. We don’t play by the rules; we make them.

Our signature program is BIODESIGN, embodies this spirit, modeling disease through four core principles:

🔹Embrace Interdisciplinary Integration: Our modeling philosophy is bidirectional: we simplify to understand, then reintroduce complexity to predict and test. Leveraging tools from engineering, computational science, and systems biology, we distill disease to its molecular essence—genes, proteins, metabolites—capturing the most outcome-deterministic features in streamlined 3D models. These models are then digitally reconstructed through in silico simulations to explore emergent behaviors and therapeutic interventions, anchored wherever possible to patient outcomes, imaging data, and epidemiologic trends.

🔹Model with Rigor, but Aim for Simplicity: Inspired by Picasso’s philosophy of abstraction—removing the superfluous to arrive at the essential—our BIODESIGN program applies computational abstraction and benchmarking to faithfully replicate core disease biology. By focusing on what truly matters, we build models that are both scientifically rigorous and clinically relevant.

🔹Anchor Models to Patient Outcomes: Many of our models are built from prospectively followed clinical samples, enabling direct correlation with patient trajectories. These models support "Phase 0" organoid trials that anticipate and inform later-phase clinical studies, accelerating translational impact.

🔹Reimagine Possibility: At HUMANOID™, we view uncertainty not as a barrier but as a catalyst for innovation. Grounded in clinical reality and fueled by imagination, we challenge assumptions and explore uncharted approaches—often uncovering answers others overlook.

Learn more about our BIODESIGN approach 

At HUMANOID, we believe innovation flourishes through collaboration. Our Pay-It-Forward Voucher Program lowers the biggest barriers to early-stage organoid research—cost, access, and expertise—by supporting unfunded studies with the critical preliminary data needed for future grant success.

Motivation for the voucher program:  The 'Pay-It-Forward' Program is more than a funding mechanism—it’s a commitment to shared progress. We offer access to our biobank, help generate pilot data, and provide hands-on support with IRB logistics, grant documents, and more. If the project is feasible, we partner with you.

Our biobank—and our mission—grow through trust, expertise, and teamwork. This program brings that mission to life: breaking down silos, empowering new ideas, and investing in transformative science.

Have an idea and a target RFA? 

Come talk to us: ctindle@health.ucsd.edu 

HUMANOID™ is dedicated to the mission of making drug discovery faster, cheaper, and more precise. Like most important things that are definitely not a joke, HUMANOID opened its doors on April Fool's day in 2019 (because, why not start something serious with a wink!). Since then, we have grown because you have helped us. We are grateful to our patients, their caregivers, the clinicians and physician-scientists, the clinical coordinators, and an entire team that provides logistical support to this mission.

Ready to see how? Check out the answers to the most frequently asked questions [FAQs]

🔹What kind of support does HUMANOID offer? 

🔹What is a ‘living biobank’? 

🔹How does HUMANOID approach disease modeling?

🔹Can HUMANOID help isolate and culture mouse organoids?

🔹How do I know which type of organoid is best for my research program? 

🔹What are the recent developments (guidelines, regulatory approvals) in organoid research  that I should be aware of? 

🔹What is HUMANOID doing to make organoid research accessible and affordable? 

🔹How can I access HUMANOID’s services or schedule a consultation?  

Lately, UC San Diego’s HUMANOID has been on the news. Check out the following links to learn more about how us and what we do:

🔹 A full article featuring UC San Diego HUMANOID Center. 
🔹 A video from UC San Diego's "Behind Every Breakthrough: Organoids" campaign series

🔹 An interview with KPBS's Tom Fudge, to address NIH's recent initiative that aims to reduce use of animals in NIH-funded research.

🔹 Technology Networks recently featured this article: How UC San Diego’s HUMANOID™ Center is engineering solutions to prevent an unparalleled era of reproducibility crisis in biomedical research. 

🔹 A recent TEDx talk featuring HUMANOID: Key takeaways:
🔹 The ‘Inconvenient Truths’ of organoid research—from the Fingerprint, Snowflake to the Drift Effects, and 7 other challenges that HUMANOID™ scientists are tackling head-on.
🔹 The future of medicine is engineered, not just discovered—and UC San Diego is leading the way. Housed within the Institute for Network Medicine, HUMANOID™ is ground zero for an integrated engineering -biology approach which we call BIODESIGN: Biology-driven Innovation for Drug Efficacy, Safety, and Integrated Next-gen. Unlike traditional biology, BIODESIGN relies on engineering principles—on precise and objective mathematical equations—rather than subjective readouts. If you are curious why, it is simply because Math is expected to yield consistent results that reproduce; the answer today, will be the same tomorrow as it will be a year from now. If an imprecise process requires precision, there is no better place to bet on than math!

So, what are you waiting for? Get in touch with the UC San Diego HUMANOID™ Center today and let’s redefine the future of drug discovery together! 🚀

Stay curious, stay innovative, and let's create a healthier world! 🌍