Collaborative study gives hope to women suffering in silence
New treatment for millions of women affected by a hidden condition, pelvic organ prolapse, is the focus of Dr Shayanti Mukherjee’s novel bioengineering project at the Monash Institute of Medical Research, thanks to a prestigious John Stocker Postdoctoral Fellowship.
The highly competitive Science and Industry Endowment Fund (SIEF) John Stocker Postdoctoral Fellowship was awarded to The Ritchie Centre’s Associate Professor Caroline Gargett, Dr Jerome Werkmeister, CSIRO Manufacturing, and Dr Anna Rosamilia from Monash Health to train Research Fellow Dr Mukherjee for her project "Bioengineering Novel Nanobiomaterial based Cellular Therapies for the Prevention of Childbirth Induced Pelvic Organ Prolapse".
A debilitating but hidden condition affecting one in five women, Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) commences during pregnancy and childbirth and exacerbates with ageing and obesity.
“POP is associated with sexual, bladder, and bowel dysfunction, including incontinence that profoundly affect the quality of life and daily functioning of sufferers; in Australia, more than $200 million was spent on urinary incontinence in 2009. At present, millions of women worldwide suffer from POP with very limited treatment options,” said Dr Mukherjee.
In the last decade, pelvic support using surgical meshes (primarily synthetic) has been heavily employed with reports of successful outcomes. However, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued Public Health Notifications in 2008 and 2011 due to significant and unacceptable mesh-related complications, leading to the withdrawal of several brands of surgical meshes from the market.
According to Dr Mukherjee, there are currently no clinical trials on cell-based therapies for POP incorporating surgical implants in or outside Australia.
“With the elderly population expected to double by 2030, POP is expected to become more prevalent without any reliable treatment options, representing a significant health and economic challenge for Australia and world-wide,” Dr Mukherjee said.
To address this major health challenge, Dr Mukherjee’s project will develop new biocompatible surgical constructs for the prevention and treatment of POP.
According to Associate Professor Gargett, Head of Endometrial Stem Cell Biology Laboratory, Dr Mukherjee's project aims to develop new hydrogels based on self-assembling peptides for delivering mesenchymal stem cells to the vaginal walls or pelvic floor muscles to prevent women developing pelvic organ prolapse.
“Dr Mukherjee will accelerate the clinical translation of these materials and will drive the project through novel study design, experimentation, data analysis, student supervision, new surgical skill development, conference presentation in our new Monash Health Translational Precinct,” said Associate Professor Gargett.
“Until now, the use of extracellular matrix (ECM) mimicking nanobiomaterials has never been explored for POP,” said Dr Mukherjee.
“My project will also develop new viable secondary prophylaxis for postpartum women to prevent POP and long term surgical treatment options for women with POP. I will be able to bring together 3 different fields (stem cell biology, nanotechnology and clinical work in gynaecology) and develop a solution, while receiving mentoring from experts in all three fields,” Dr Mukherjee said.
The highly competitive SIEF Award provides a 3 year Fellowship for just six postdoctoral fellows each year across Australia covering all scientific disciplines. In 2015 there were 179 applicants.
This important project is a collaborative study involving researchers and clinicians from CSIRO, The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute, Monash Health and Monash University.