The most recent edition of  Women’s Health In Focus at NIH explores technology and innovation in women's health research. NIH’s major investments over the past decades have spurred advancements for in vitro bioengineering tools that enable the use of human cells and tissues for preclinical testing. These advances have the potential to expedite the development, testing, and clinical use of novel therapeutics. In Focus 7.4 describes how the tools' advancements are accelerating research on several conditions that solely or predominantly affect women, including gynecological cancers and endometriosis, and reveals promising new avenues for treatment.

The “Scientist Spotlight” article features an interview with Shelly Peyton, Ph.D., Department Chair of Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University. Dr. Peyton’s interdisciplinary research team draws on members' biological, chemical, or engineering expertise to build simplified human tissue models with synthetic biomaterials. Her laboratory is using these models to study metastatic breast cancer and traumatic brain injury, with a particular focus on how different cell types interact with the biochemical and biophysical cues from the extracellular matrix.

Read the latest issue of  In Focus now.

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