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The MIT Health and Life Sciences Collaborative (MIT HEALS) has declared the creation of the Fairbairn Menstruation Science Fund, backing an ambitious, high-impact initiative aimed at transforming research in women’s health.
Funded through a bequest from Emily and Malcolm Fairbairn, this fund will promote pioneering research on the role of the human uterus and its influence on sex-based variations in human immunology that lead to gynecological issues like endometriosis, as well as other chronic systemic inflammatory diseases that disproportionately impact women, such as Lyme disease and lupus. The Fairbairns, who reside in the San Francisco Bay Area, have pledged $10 million, along with a call for an additional $10 million in matching contributions.
“I’m extremely thankful to Emily and Malcolm Fairbairn for their groundbreaking support of menstruation science at MIT. For far too long, this field of research has suffered from insufficient scientific investment and visibility, despite its significant effects on the health and lives of over half the population,” states Anantha P. Chandrakasan, MIT provost, who served as chief innovation and strategy officer and dean of engineering at the time of the donation, as well as Vannevar Bush Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Chandrakasan continues: “Thanks to innovative work from researchers like Professor Linda Griffith and her team at the MIT Center for Gynepathology Research (CGR), we have a chance to enhance our understanding and tackle crucial challenges in menstruation science.”
Griffith, a professor of biological and mechanical engineering and the director of CGR, mentions that the Fairbairn Fund will enable the exploration of “the vast sex-based differences in human immunity” and propel the development of next-generation drug-discovery technologies.
A primary focus of the new initiative will be to advance the creation of “organs on chips,” living models that mimic patients. By utilizing living cells or tissues, such devices permit researchers to replicate and investigate interactions that may occur within the body. Griffith and a diverse team of researchers have developed a powerful microfluidic platform that hosts chips facilitating the growth of tissues complete with blood vessels and circulating immune cells. This technology was designed for constructing endometriosis lesions derived from individual patients with known clinical characteristics. The chip enables researchers to perform preclinical drug testing on human patient-derived endometriosis models instead of laboratory animals, which often do not menstruate naturally and possess immune systems that operate differently from humans.
The Fairbairn Fund will establish the framework for a “living patient avatar” facility aimed at developing such physiomimetic models for various health conditions.
“We recognize that there are significant phenomenological questions that can be examined in animals, but human immunology is markedly different,” Griffith asserts. “Pharmaceutical companies and biotech acknowledge that we need living models of patients, as well as computational models based on meticulously curated patient data if we are to achieve higher success rates in clinical trials.”
The computational models of patient data referenced by Griffith are crucial for deciding how to construct the patient avatars and which therapeutics to evaluate on them. For example, through systems biology analysis of inflammation in patient abdominal fluid, Griffith and her colleagues identified an intracellular enzyme called jun kinase (JNK). They are currently collaborating with a biotech firm to evaluate specific inhibitors of JNK in their model. Griffith has also partnered with Michal “Mikki” Tal, a principal scientist in MIT’s Department of Biological Engineering, to investigate a potential connection between previous infections, such as those caused by the Lyme bacterium Borrelia, and various chronic inflammatory diseases in women. Automating assays of patient samples for higher throughput could systematically accelerate the generation of hypotheses steering the development of patient model experimentation.
“This fund is transformative,” Griffith states. “Industry, government, and other foundations will invest if the foundational infrastructure is present. They wish to apply the technologies, but it is challenging to develop them to a point where they are proven effective. This propels us through that challenging segment of the journey.”
The fund will additionally support efforts to engage the public in reducing the stigma surrounding menstruation and the neglect of conditions such as abnormal uterine bleeding, debilitating anemia, endometriosis, and polycystic ovary syndrome — as well as generally drawing greater attention to women’s health research. For instance, endometriosis, where tissue similar to the uterine lining begins growing outside the uterus and causes painful inflammation, affects one in ten women. It often remains undiagnosed for years and can necessitate multiple surgeries to excise its lesions. Yet, minimal information exists about its causes, preventive measures, or effective treatments.
Research in women’s health could further enhance multiple medical areas beyond conditions that disproportionately influence females. Griffith notes that the uterus, which sheds and regenerates its lining monthly, exhibits “scarless healing” that could warrant further exploration. Additionally, a deeper examination of the uterus could provide insights into immune tolerance for transplants, given that a successful pregnancy involves an implanted fetus that is not rejected, despite containing foreign material from the biological father.
For Emily Fairbairn, the fund represents a vital progression toward significant advancements in an often-ignored sector of medicine.
“My goal is to back intellectually honest, open-minded scientists who embrace risk, interpret failure as feedback, and remain devoted to discovery over dogma. This fund is a direct extension of that philosophy. It aims to propel research into the biological realities of diseases that remain inadequately understood, frequently dismissed, or disproportionately misdiagnosed in women,” Fairbairn states. “I’ve chosen to contribute this gift to MIT because Linda Griffith embodies the rare amalgamation of scientific integrity and bold innovation — qualities essential for confronting the most neglected challenges in medicine.”
Fairbairn also describes Griffith collaborator Michal Tal as “deeply inspiring.”
“Her work exemplifies what’s achievable when scientific excellence intertwines with institutional courage. It is this spirit — bold, rigorous, and fearless — that motivated this gift and fuels our optimism for the future of women’s health,” she remarks.
Fairbairn, who has endured both Lyme disease and endometriosis requiring multiple surgeries, initially directed her philanthropic efforts, including previous donations to MIT, toward the study of Lyme disease and related infections.
“My experiences with both Lyme and endometriosis intensified my resolve that science must better consider how female physiology, genetics, and psychology differ from males,” she explains. “MIT stands out for regarding women’s health not as a niche, but as a frontier. The Institute’s commitment to merging immunology, neurobiology, bioengineering, and data science — alongside its development of innovative platforms like human chips — represents a rare and necessary seriousness of purpose.”
For her part, Griffith refers to Fairbairn as “a citizen scientist who inspires us on a daily basis.”
“Her relentless advocacy for patients, especially women, who are marginalized and dismissed, is invaluable,” Griffith adds. “Emily has made me a more effective scientist, in service of humanity.”
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