Preterm birth affects over 13 million infants annually and is a leading cause of childhood mortality and lifelong disability. In the U.S., it disproportionately impacts Black infants (14.6%) compared to Hispanic (10.0%) and White (9.4%) infants, leading to severe health issues like cerebral palsy and sensory impairments, and causing trauma for parents. Effective diagnostics and treatments are urgently needed, but progress has been limited by a lack of accurate human labor models.
Our team aims to develop an advanced Human Pregnant Cervix Chip to study cervical biomechanics, identify biomarkers, and discover treatments to prevent preterm labor, with potential to benefit global populations.