 Ingber's tensegrity theory also led to the prediction in the early 1980s that changes in extracellular matrix structure and mechanics play a fundamental role in tissue and organ development, and that deregulation of this form of developmental control can promote cancer formation.Ingber's contributions in translational medicine include discovery of one of the first angiogenesis inhibitor compounds (TNP-470) to enter clinical trials for cancer, creation of tissue engineering scaffolds that led to clinical products, development of a dialysis-like blood cleansing device for treatment of blood stream infections that is moving towards clinical testing, creation of a mechanically-activated nanotechnology for targeting clot-busting drugs to sites of vascular occlusion, and co-development of a new surface coating based on Slippery Liquid Infused Porous Surfaces (SLIPS) for medical devices and implants that could eliminate the conventional dependency on anticoagulant drugs that pose life-threatening side-effect risks.One of his more recent innovations is the creation of tiny, complex, three-dimensional models of living human organs, known as "organs-on-chips" (Organ Chips), which mimic complicated human organ functions "in vitro" as a way to potentially replace traditional animal-based methods for testing of drugs and toxins.