Dr. Jie Shen, a faculty member at Northeastern University’s Bouvé College of Health Sciences, has been awarded a $49,999 First Look Award from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) for her groundbreaking research project titled “Accelerating Women’s Health Solutions: A Bioengineered Vaginal Tissue Model for Modern Drug Development and Testing.”
The award was announced as part of a $3.7 million funding initiative supporting 16 projects driving women’s health innovation across Massachusetts. The announcement was made during a Women’s Health convening held ahead of the BIO International Convention in Boston.
Dr. Shen’s research focuses on developing advanced bioengineered tissue models that could revolutionize how drugs are developed and tested for women’s health conditions. This innovative approach addresses the historic underinvestment in women’s health research by creating more accurate and representative testing platforms.
The First Look Awards program, a collaboration between the MLSC and the Mary Horrigan Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, supports exploratory projects aimed at developing translatable solutions for women’s health and advancing understanding of gender biology.
According to MLSC President and CEO Kirk Taylor, MD, the organization’s strategy aims to position Massachusetts as a national and global leader in women’s health innovation. Since 2019, the MLSC has deployed more than $20 million across 60 women’s health projects in collaboration with 15 companies.
This recognition highlights Bouvé College’s commitment to advancing health sciences research and addressing critical gaps in healthcare innovation, particularly in areas that have been historically underserved.
