Women's Health

Endometriosis is characterized by the abnormal growth of tissue resembling the endometrium outside the uterus. It is estimated to affect 10–15% of reproductive-aged women and is associated with significant morbidity, including chronic pelvic pain and infertility. With no curative treatments currently available, standard therapies rely on hormonal suppression or invasive surgery, both of which are...

ReConstruct is a platform for growing, vascularizing, and implanting patient-derived tissues that enable safer breast reconstruction after cancer surgery.

Lactation Biologics is developing a long-lasting, self-injectable treatment to help nursing mothers feed their babies naturally, helping them get the best nutrition possible in the face of climate disasters and supply chain disruptions.

Treating breast cancer that has metastasized to the brain is an extreme challenge because most drugs are not able to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). About one in three patients with HER2+ or triple negative breast cancer will develop brain metastases, which leads to high morbidity and mortalities. There is currently no effective, systemic treatment...

Placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) is a condition where the placenta attaches too deeply into the uterine wall, causing severe bleeding and complications for the mother. PAS occurs in 1 in 300 to 500 deliveries — a 10-fold increase in the past 50 years. However, more than 50% of cases are not detected before delivery. To...

Obstetric fistula is a devastating condition characterized by an abnormal connection between the female genital tract and the bladder or rectum. It affects more than two million women in Africa and Asia and leads to constant leakage of blood, urine, and stool, causing pain, infection, social ostracization, and physical isolation. Current treatment through reconstructive surgery...

Nearly 80% of women who survive cancer go on to struggle with fertility. Our team is developing an innovative approach using ovarian tissue cryopreservation: freezing and storing ovarian tissue to preserve fertility potential. By combining patient-derived cells and innovative techniques, we are accelerating tissue engraftment, boosting pregnancy rates, and preserving vital ovarian function. Our multidisciplinary...

Despite the clear biological impact of the vaginal microbiome on women’s health, there are no practical diagnostics for vaginal bacterial composition, which limits clinical care and research. We plan to develop a rapid diagnostic platform to identify key vaginal microbial community members and categorize its diversity, enabling researchers and clinicians to better understand variations in...

Muscle loss is a major concern for women as they enter perimenopause, as it can cause an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, and other health conditions. We’re developing wearable sensors and using machine learning to guide and track strength training at home. By offering personalized guidance without the high cost of personal trainers, the...

Currently, about 10% of women who undergo mammograms have a false-positive result, leading to additional tests, including invasive biopsies. We’re developing a blood test to be administered at the time of breast imaging that could reduce the number of women who are encouraged to get biopsies but do not ultimately have breast cancer. Our study...

Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are advised to achieve remission before pregnancy, in an effort to decrease pregnancy-related intestinal issues, including fibrosis. Yet the exact mechanisms underlying the fluctuation of their symptoms remain unclear and there are no treatments currently available. To close this knowledge gap, we are treating our IBD Organ Chips with...

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) disproportionately affects women, who also experience IBD symptoms differently than men. Through research with human Organ Chips, we identified the role of connective tissue in aggravating inflammation in the nearby intestinal cells of IBD patients. We will use this chip technology to enable rapid screening of stromal cells, crucial for understanding...

Lymphedema is a painful condition affecting millions of women worldwide, often caused by surgical treatment of breast and gynecologic cancers, or a biological predisposition. While no medicines are currently available to address lymphatic disease, we are combining a bioengineered human lymphatic-on-chip platform, lymphatic cell biology, and drug development expertise in an interdisciplinary effort to transform...

Autoimmune diseases disproportionately affect women, with 80% of individuals suffering from these conditions being female. These diseases often lead to chronic and debilitating symptoms. Early and accurate diagnosis is crucial for effective management. Multi-analyte differentiation of protein biomarkers holds immense promise in distinguishing between various autoimmune diseases, enabling tailored treatment plans. To improve patient outcomes,...

Over 12,000 women die of ovarian cancer every year, yet ovarian cancer receives less than 1% of research funding compared to other solid tumors. Early symptoms can often mimic less serious conditions, and delayed diagnoses mean that 80% of ovarian cancer cases are metastatic at the time of detection. For these patients, the 5-year survival...

Interactions between a woman’s microbiome and the microenvironment of the reproductive tract are crucial for vaginal health. Disruptions of the microbial balance can lead to conditions like HIV, bacterial vaginosis, miscarriage and preterm birth. Yet current research methods, such as microbial cultures and metagenomic analysis, often fail to replicate the cervicovaginal environment accurately. Our Cervix...