Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) researcher Catherine Whittington is launching a new project to develop laboratory models for the study of uterine fibroids, and before work had even begun, WPI students had already played a critical role.
The three-year project is built upon research that students, including one who was still in high school at the time, previously completed in Whittington’s lab. Now, with funding from a National Institutes of Health (NIH) program that focuses on extending research opportunities to undergraduates, Whittington is expanding on the students’ findings to create models that could help researchers better understand and develop treatments for a disease that impacts millions of women.
“The framework for this project was established by students who conducted studies, replicated their results, and did statistical analysis, all of which goes into rigorous scientific research,” said Whittington, an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. “We have an opportunity to advance and expand their pioneering work.”
Whittington will use a $555,371 grant from the NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to develop two laboratory models. Both will create tiny microenvironments for fibroid cells so that researchers can examine how cellular signals moving through stiff and inflamed tissue may affect the course of disease.
Uterine fibroids are common benign tumors that grow within the muscular walls of the uterus. An estimated 70% to 80% of women develop uterine fibroids by the age of 50. For some, symptoms can be painful, and the disease can impact fertility. The only cure for uterine fibroids is hysterectomy.
