On 28 May, in the Richard Doll Building. The day’s programme focused on the relationship between engineering and medicine, with particular attention to women’s health, emerging challenges, and new techniques to address them.
The first speaker was Dr Christoffer Nellåker, Research Fellow at the Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health. His talk, Computational Placenta Histopathology from the Bottom Up, explored histology, the microscopic study of tissues, and the challenges associated with analysing the placenta. Placental complications are often difficult to diagnose retrospectively, as there can be significant delays in identifying underlying causes of issues at birth.
To address this, Dr Nellåker’s team has developed the Histology Analysis Pipeline.PY (HAPPY), a deep learning hierarchical method that quantifies variability in cells and micro-anatomical structures across whole-slide placental images. This approach builds from the detection of nuclei, to the classification of cell types, and then to larger tissue structures. By analysing these patterns, the system can identify pathological features that may not be visible to the human eye.
The ultimate aim is to provide faster and more accurate insights for families following birth. Improved placental analysis could also serve as an indicator of long term health outcomes. The talk prompted strong engagement from the audience, with students considering how similar computational approaches could be applied in their own research.
Professor Dan Bulte followed with a lecture on the maternal brain, presenting work led by Dr Joana Pinto, former Senior Research Associate at IBME and Founder and Principal Investigator of The Maternal Brain Project. He opened with two central questions: whether the female brain differs from the male brain, and whether the commonly described ‘baby brain’ effect is supported by evidence.
Research suggests that structural changes in the brain do occur during pregnancy, but many studies are not designed to distinguish clearly between male and female brain differences. While age remains the most significant factor in neurodegeneration, women are at greater risk of dementia. In 2020, twice as many women as men died from dementia, raising important questions about the underlying causes.
Professor Bulte outlined several contributing factors, including differences in life experience. Access to education in early life is known to reduce dementia risk, yet disparities remain globally. Women are also more affected by traumatic brain injury, and pregnancy introduces unique physiological changes. He noted that dementia research often lacks gender specific analysis, resulting in limited and sometimes misleading risk profiling. Dr Pinto’s work seeks to disentangle these factors, including the role of pregnancy and conditions such as pre-eclampsia, although much more research is required in this area.
The keynote lecture was delivered by Professor Kristin Myers, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Columbia University. She began by emphasising the growing importance of women’s health research, noting that it is no longer a niche field and is now attracting significant attention in the healthcare innovation space. Improvements in women’s health, particularly in addressing menopause conditions, have already demonstrated wider economic benefits, while poor maternal and pre-term outcomes continue to impose substantial costs.
Professor Myers’ research focuses on the uterus, which she described as an extreme organ due to its complexity and the challenges involved in studying it. Current technologies are often designed as general solutions and may not account for the variability of individual pregnancies, leaving clinicians and patients without clear answers in cases such as stillbirth.
She discussed the biomechanical changes that occur during pregnancy and the limitations of existing imaging tools, which often provide only one dimensional information. The material properties of the cervix, for example, are strongly linked to the risk of pre-term birth. New approaches, including the development of digital twins of the cervix and uterus, offer improved methods for risk stratification and diagnosis. She also highlighted the need to update clinical devices, particularly those used to support cervical closure.
Her team studies how uterine tissue remodels during pregnancy through mechanical testing, including tension and compression analysis. By measuring changes in tissue strength and the properties of the cervical opening, they aim to identify high risk pregnancies at an earlier stage. Her lecture generated extensive discussion on the future of women’s health technologies, including innovations in contraception and clinical tools.
Following her talk, Professor Myers remarked: “Women’s health can be extremely complex. Many conditions are chronic, episodic, and under-resourced. This creates an opportunity for engineers to develop systems that can significantly improve long term clinical outcomes.”
Reflecting on the event, Dr Christoffer Nellåker said: “It was very inspiring to see the convergence of research focused on women’s reproductive health.”
The Institute extends its thanks to all speakers and IBME researchers who contributed demonstrations throughout the day. The next BioEngenuity lecture will take place later this year.
