Elizabeth Cosgriff-Hernández, professor of biomedical engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, was awarded a research grant to advance women’s health research.
Cosgriff-Hernández received a five-year, National Institutes of Health grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute Of Child Health & Human Development entitled “Model-Directed Design of Vaginal Stents to Prevent Post-radiation Stenosis.”
Up to 75% of patients who receive pelvic radiation treatment experience vaginal stenosis, a condition that can significantly impact their quality of life but is not well understood. To address this, Cosgriff-Hernández and her team are developing a patient-forward vaginal stent designed to treat this condition by maintaining the vaginal opening.
The project will also generate advanced models and testing methods to improve gynecological device design and uncover key insights into how to prevent and reverse the effects of vaginal stenosis.
“By integrating a patient-centric design, cutting-edge materials science, and computational modeling, we can overcome critical gaps in current care to restore function and improve quality of life for these underserved patients. This innovative approach is driven by the power of clinician-engineer partnerships and team science," said Cosgriff-Hernandez.
Co-investigators on the project include Dr. Julie Hakim, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine, Melissa Grunlan, professor of biomedical engineering at Texas A&M University and Manuel Rausch, associate professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics at UT Austin.
Cosgriff-Hernández is a current recipient of the Cullen Trust for Higher Education Endowed Professorship in Engineering No. 2. Her research focuses on the integration of fundamental polymer science and bioengineering to develop new biomaterials to improve clinical outcomes of medical devices and regeneration strategies in the areas of orthopedics, cardiovascular devices, chronic wound healing, and women’s health.
The research reported in this article was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute Of Child Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01HD116968. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
WRITTEN BY JOSHUA KLEINSTREUER
