On Sept. 22, 2023, CGR hosted the first Open Endoscopy Forum Gynecology Science and Technology Workshop at MIT. Nearly 100 individuals joined the pre-conference event (in person and virtually), which was held in conjunction with the Sixth Open Endoscopy Forum.
Workshop Sponsors:
The Huiying Foundation | The John and Karinne Begg Foundation
This workshop was created by the strong demand from gynecology surgeons who want to learn more about basic and translational research, together with strong demand from the engineering/science community who want to learn more about challenging problems in gynecology.
The mode of this workshop was participatory, with the aim of tackling challenges in building lasting, productive bridges between surgeons, academic scientists, and their industry partners. CGR welcomed a wide range of attendees, from students and faculty in academia to surgeons and industry practitioners interested in basic science.
Three immersive sessions spanned the spectrum from basic science investigations to device design, development, and implementation. Two morning sessions focused on basic and translational science in endometriosis and adenomyosis, and an afternoon session on technology and treatment for a wide range of gynecological and urogynecological disorders.
Location:
MIT Stata Center, Room 32-123 (32 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA)
Agenda:
- Registration: 7:45 – 8:15 a.m.
- Workshop Sessions 1 & 2: 8:20 a.m. – 12:50 p.m.
- Lunch & Networking: 12:50 – 1:40 p.m.
- Workshop Session 3: 1:40 – 4:00 p.m.
Session Overviews
Session 1:
Session 1: Unraveling mechanisms of pain, toward new drug development
Integrating clinical phenotyping, molecular and cellular analyses, and in vitro “organs on chips” patient avatars to unravel – and treat – mechanisms of pain, including primary and secondary dysmenorrhea, in endometriosis and adenomyosis, with emphasis on delineating differences in adolescent and adult (where applicable).
Session 1 Presenters:
Part A. Clinical Phenotyping of Patients with Dysmenorrhea and Suspected Endometriosis / Adenomyosis: Should we be paying more attention to adolescent phenotyping, to capture pathophysiology and manifestations in earlier windows of endo and adeno, and to generate etiologic hypotheses more proximal to initiation / promotion / onset?
Panel: Frank Tu, MD and Kevin Hellman, PhD (Northshore Hospital, Chicago), Pam Stratton, MD (NIH, NINDS), and Andrew Schrepf, PhD (University of Michigan, virtual). Moderator: Keith Isaacson
Part B. Discerning molecular/cellular mechanisms of pain (and other symptoms) and building the patient in the lab
Panel: Rob Taylor, MD, PhD (University of Buffalo), Steve Palmer, PhD (Baylor), and Linda Griffith, PhD (MIT). Moderator: Pam Stratton, MD (NIH, NINDS).
Part C. Data Integration – integrating patient phenotyping with mechanistic studies. Speaker: Doug Lauffenburger, PhD (MIT)
Session 2:
What have we learned about endo/adeno from scRNAseq and spatial transcriptomics – where are we, where are we going?
This session features scientists and clinicians who have published genomic/transcriptomic work. Each will give short presentations describing their studies and the challenges in merging the clinical limitations with basic science goals. A panel discussion follows on the state of the field and how to make progress.
Session 2 Presenters/Teams:
- Roser Vento-Tormo, PhD (Wellcome-Sanger Institute Cambridge, UK, virtual): Reference: Garcia-Alanso et al, Nat Gen, 2021.
- Kelly Wright, MD and Kate Lawrenson, PhD (Cedars Sinai, Los Angeles): Single Cell Transcriptomics of Endometriosis (Nat Gen 2023).
- Elise Courtois, PhD (The Jackson Laboratory) and Danielle Luciano, MD (University of Connecticut): Single cell sequencing of endometriosis (Nat Cell Biol 2022).
- Doug Lauffenburger, PhD (MIT Biological Engineering), Britt Goods, PhD (Dartmouth), and Keith Isaacson, MD (NWH): Integrating proteomics and transcriptomics.
- Stacey Missmer, ScD (Michigan State University and Scientific Director, Boston Center for Endometriosis), Naoko Sasamoto, MD, PhD (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston), and Greg Burns, PhD (MSU). Endometriotic and Endometrial spatial and single cell transcriptome, look to multi-phenomics.
Session 2 Panel: All Session 1 and 2 speakers discuss challenges, issues, and where the field is going. Moderator: Linda Griffith, PhD (MIT)
Session 3:
Technology and instrumentation for diagnosis and treatment.
The objective of the clinical research forum is to provide insight into how innovative medical devices and techniques are evaluated by industry and introduced into the market. Ideas for medical devices may come from physicians, however most physicians are unfamiliar with the steps necessary to protect intellectual property, develop prototypes, obtain proof of principal, evaluate the market opportunity, and secure funding for the projects. In this research forum, we will use real world examples to demonstrate pathways for development for these ideas. The format includes short presentations from teams experienced with translation, and breakout sessions for in-depth discussion with participants.
Session 3 Presenters:
Co-Chairs: Peter Rosenblatt, MD (Mount Auburn Hospital) and Nevan Hanumara, PhD (MIT Mechanical Engineering)
Peter Rosenblatt, MD (Director of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, Mount Auburn Hospital), “A surgeon’s perspective: What to do with your ideas”
Adam Mascari (Co-founder, Chief Commercial Officer, OriGYN Solutions, LLC), “How industry evaluates surgical innovation”
Roger Goldberg, MD (North Shore & University of Chicago), “Innovating urogynecology solutions, while driving safely on the road to commercialization”
Steven Abramowitch, PhD (University of Pittsburgh, Bioengineering): “Urogynecology Device Innovation; Strengthening the Foundation with Bioengineering Research”
If you have questions about the workshop, please contact Linda Griffith at griff@mit.edu or Peter Rosenblatt at plrosen@comcast.net.