MIT Initiates Lunar-scale Research Push for Menstruation Advancements

MIT Initiates Lunar-scale Research Push for Menstruation Advancements

The Fairbairn Menstruation Science Fund, a groundbreaking initiative worth $10 million, has been launched at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to revolutionise women's health research, focusing on the function of the human uterus and sex-based differences in human immunology.

Established through a generous gift from Emily and Malcolm Fairbairn, the fund aims to raise an additional $10 million in matching funds. This significant investment seeks to advance understanding in historically underfunded areas of medical science, such as menstruation and women’s health.

The fund supports innovative bioengineering approaches, including the development of physiomimetic models, "living patient avatars," and organs-on-chips that replicate patient-specific tissue models. These advancements will enhance preclinical drug testing and facilitate next-generation drug discovery, helping to tackle complex sex-based immune differences.

Professor Linda Griffith, who leads the Centre for Gynepathology Research at MIT, has been instrumental in pioneering microfluidic platforms capable of growing tissues with vascular and immune system components. The Fairbairn Fund will enable her to further develop these technologies, particularly in the area of understanding the uterus's scarless healing.

One key application of this research is the development of a chip that allows researchers to do preclinical testing of drugs on the human patient-derived endometriosis model, rather than on laboratory animals. Endometriosis, a gynecological disorder that affects one in 10 women, often goes undiagnosed for years and requires repeated surgeries to remove its lesions. Little is known about what causes it, how to prevent it, or what could effectively stop it.

The Fairbairn Fund will also support research into other chronic systemic inflammatory diseases that disproportionately affect women, such as Lyme disease and lupus. Deepened study of the uterus could shed light on immune tolerance for transplants, given that in a successful pregnancy, an implanted fetus is not rejected, despite containing foreign material from the biological father.

Emily Fairbairn, a citizen scientist who inspires Professor Griffith daily, has a mission to support scientists who embrace risk, treat failure as feedback, and remain committed to discovery over dogma. The Fairbairn Fund will build the infrastructure for a "living patient avatar" facility to develop such physiomimetic models for all kinds of health conditions.

In addition to funding research, the Fairbairn Menstruation Science Fund will also support public engagement efforts to reduce stigma around menstruation and neglected conditions like abnormal uterine bleeding, debilitating anemia, endometriosis, and polycystic ovary syndrome.

Fairbairn considers Professor Griffith and her collaborator Michal Tal as deeply inspiring. Previously, Fairbairn directed her philanthropy, including gifts to MIT, towards the study of Lyme disease and associated infections. However, she has recently focused her efforts on women's health research, viewing MIT's approach to women's health as treating it not as a niche but as a frontier.

The Fairbairn Menstruation Science Fund is a critical step toward major advances in an often-overlooked area of medicine, according to Fairbairn. It is a "moonshot for menstruation science," with the potential to generate major breakthroughs impacting the health and lives of over half the population.

1. The Fairbairn Menstruation Science Fund, established at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), aims to revolutionize women's health research, particularly focusing on the function of the human uterus and sex-based differences in human immunology.
2. The fund, supported by a generous gift from Emily and Malcolm Fairbairn, aspires to advance understanding in historically underfunded areas of medical science, such as menstruation and women’s health.
3. Innovative bioengineering approaches, including the development of physiomimetic models, "living patient avatars," and organs-on-chips that replicate patient-specific tissue models, are among the advancements the fund will support.
4. Professor Linda Griffith, who leads the Centre for Gynepathology Research at MIT, will use the Fairbairn Fund to further develop her pioneering microfluidic platforms, with a focus on understanding the uterus's scarless healing.
5. One key application of this research is the development of a chip that allows researchers to do preclinical testing of drugs on the human patient-derived endometriosis model, rather than on laboratory animals, helping to tackle complex sex-based immune differences.
6. The Fairbairn Fund will also support research into other chronic systemic inflammatory diseases that disproportionately affect women, such as Lyme disease and lupus, and could shed light on immune tolerance for transplants.
7. In addition to funding research, the Fairbairn Menstruation Science Fund will also support public engagement efforts to reduce stigma around menstruation and other neglected conditions like abnormal uterine bleeding, debilitating anemia, endometriosis, and polycystic ovary syndrome.
8. The Fairbairn Menstruation Science Fund is a significant investment in the health-and-wellness sector, with potential to generate major breakthroughs in women's health, viewed by Emily Fairbairn as a frontier, rather than a niche, in science and medicine.

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