Dr Shayanti Mukherjee is the Head of the Translational Tissue Engineering Lab at the Hudson Institute of Medical Research and is pioneering the application of cutting-edge technology to advance women’s health. She has a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the National University of Singapore and has earned prestigious accolades, including the Johnson & Johnson WiSTEM2D award for her research excellence in the application of engineering for human health advancement. An Emerging Leader in Hudson’s Women’s Health theme, she is committed to enhancing maternal urogynaecological health through engineering innovations. Currently, her research merges multiple disciplines to understand how chronic pelvic floor disorders manifest after childbirth injury and develop novel therapies for their treatment. To this end, Dr Mukherjee has designed novel tissue-engineered surgical constructs using electrospinning, 3D printing and bioink formulations. She has a keen interest in the immunobiology of biomaterials and developing new preclinical models to investigate host foreign body response to surgical implants. Her recent MTP Connect REDI fellowship with Moderna adds to her industry expertise, enhancing translational research and fostering impactful collaborations between academia and industry to advance medical solutions.
Research
Dr. Mukherjee focuses on pelvic organ prolapse (POP), a highly debilitating condition affecting over 50% of elderly women who have previously given birth. POP has a devastating impact on women’s physical, sexual, and mental health due to the herniation of pelvic organs such as the bladder, bowel, and uterus into the vagina. It also increases dependence on care due to urinary and fecal dysfunction and requires frequent hospitalization that profoundly impair the quality of life of the elderly. At present, there is no cure or even optimal therapy for the treatment of POP and involves high expenditure. Until recently, synthetic meshes were often used transvaginally to treat POP. However, owing to severe complications requiring additional morbid removal surgeries, their use has now been banned. Most women suffer in silence despite the poor quality of life to avoid shame and surgery side effects. With the rise in the aging population, POP represents a significant unmet women’s health need.
Dr. Mukherjee’s research endeavours tackle this significant unmet with an innovative program. Her research will merge advanced engineering principles, such as 3D bioprinting with stem cell biology and immunology to develop novel treatment solutions and offer insights into timely detection for better clinical management of POP. This pioneering study is expected to lead to a breakthrough, offering highly effective and personalised treatments informed by promising pre-clinical findings. With the foundation’s support, Dr Mukherjee’s interdisciplinary research is poised to bring about a substantial shift in the current paradigm by advancing pathogenesis indicators and validating nanotechnology-based therapeutic strategies for optimal vaginal repair. In the long term, the project outcomes will improve women’s quality of life, reduce healthcare expenditure and promote increased independence and well-being in the golden years.