Washington University in St. Louis offers Engineering for Women’s Health course

The course is taught by Michelle Oyen, an associate professor of biomedical engineering and director of the Center for Women’s Health Engineering. 

McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis focuses on women's health, where a new Department of Biomedical Engineering elective course is filled with students interested in how they can use engineering to solve problems in women’s health.

The course - Engineering for Women’s Health (BME 4780/5780) is available to both graduate and undergraduate students. It is taught by Michelle Oyen, an associate professor of biomedical engineering and director of the Center for Women’s Health Engineering. The initial intake for the course was 16, which quickly increased to 48 when the course gained popularity.

“When we pull in the engineers from these startup companies, students can talk to the people who work in real jobs in the field. The FemTech sector has a lot of startups in women’s health, which is a trillion-dollar market. There are a lot of opportunities for young engineers to work in this space," Oyen said.

One of the classes featured Kelsey Mayo, co-founder and CEO of Armor Medical and Christine O’Brien, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering and co-founder and chief scientific officer of Armor Medical Inc. They presented students with their investor pitch and details about how the company got started and also shared information about their wrist-worn early monitoring system for obstetric haemorrhage, which leads to severe blood loss that occurs in 5% of all births. The condition is 90% preventable if detected and treated early. 

Engineering for Women’s Health Course Details

The course includes guest speakers from FemTech (technology focused on women’s health) companies, research scientists from the School of Medicine, and startups who participate in panel discussions. The course comprises lectures on women’s reproductive anatomy and physiology.

The students are completing group projects as part of the projects to address needs in women's health including osteoporosis, hip fractures, menopause, and lack of muscle mass. 

I wanted to take this course after taking O’Brien’s course “Quantitative Physiology II” (BME 301B) last fall, said Annika Avula, a dual-degree student earning a bachelor’s and a master’s in biomedical engineering.

“It really opened so many people’s eyes to things that can be done for women’s health. This course has introduced me to a new way of thinking. I’m more interested in problems and more called to ask questions," Avula said.

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