{"id":69253,"date":"2025-05-01T13:17:32","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T03:17:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au?post_type=hdsn_news_post&p=69253"},"modified":"2025-07-08T13:02:49","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T03:02:49","slug":"the-hidden-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"hdsn_news_post","link":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/the-hidden-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"The hidden pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Two women from different backgrounds met for the first time at Hudson Institute because they have one thing in common. For Associate Professor Shayanti Mukherjee<\/a>, born in India and now living and raising her family in Melbourne, it\u2019s her life\u2019s work; For Sally Maconochie, Brisbane major projects consultant and mother, it is the thing that turned her from a super-fit marathon runner to a person living with a disability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u2018thing\u201d in question is pelvic organ prolapse (POP)<\/a>, a common medical condition, that many have never heard of. POP develops when tissues, pelvic floor muscles and ligaments that support the pelvic organs (bladder, uterus and bowel) become damaged, usually in childbirth, causing organs to shift or \u2018drop\u2019 into or outside the vagina. POP is essentially a hernia through which organs protrude because supporting tissue is weak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Horrifying and traumatic<\/h2>\n\n\n
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\"Sally<\/a>
Sally Maconochie<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In Sally\u2019s words, the impact on her life was horrifying and traumatic, so severe that she decided to find out as much as she could about POP and spread the word. That is how she found Hudson Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe way the prolapse affected me in everyday life was quite obvious and something I found I couldn\u2019t hide \u2013 I couldn\u2019t stand for 10 minutes, let alone run.\u201d – Sally Maconochie<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\/Prof Mukherjee, Head of the Translational Tissue Engineering Research group<\/a>, specialises in innovative cell-based therapies for pelvic floor disorders and birth trauma injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next-generation therapies<\/h2>\n\n\n
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L-R: Dr Saeedeh Darzi, Dr Kallyanashis Paul, Associate Professor Shayanti Mukherjee<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

She and her team are designing degradable meshes to regenerate vaginal tissue using a polymer material approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to create tissue engineering therapies for treating POP. It is a vexed area of research since the surgical use of synthetic, non-degradable meshes was banned after they were found to be responsible for serious and life changing damage in a significant number of patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her team combines engineering and 3D printing expertise with Hudson Institute\u2019s own stem cell technologies to develop a safer alternative that works with a woman\u2019s body, not against it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is no wonder that when they met in the lab, Sally and Shayanti had plenty to discuss. \u201cThe 3D bio-printed mesh is something I\u2019m really excited about,\u201d Sally said. \u201cThe fact that Hudson Institute is looking at a potential mesh alternative is really exciting, because for people like me who have muscle away from bone, that\u2019s the only way we have of re-attaching it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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L-R: Associate Professor Shayanti Mukherjee, Professor Caroline Gargett and Sally Maconochie<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Prevention and cure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hudson Institute’s team are focused on prevention, as well as a cure. Building on Professor Caroline Gargett\u2019s<\/a> research with mesenchymal stem cells, A\/Prof Mukherjee is also working to develop ways to better identify and treat birth injuries when they happen, rather than waiting until they develop into something much more serious, like POP, in later years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sally wants to do whatever she can to ensure that future generations of women are better prepared and informed as they approach birth. \u201cMy mother, my grandmother and her other all had prolapses after childbirth, but no-one mentioned it to me until it was too late, and it turns out that a family history of prolapse is one of the biggest risk factors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researcher and the advocate now have a mutually beneficial relationship, born of pain but promising so much joy and relief for women everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Hidden<\/figure>
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The Hudson Institute team is investigating using mesenchymal stem cells from the uterus (endometrial mesenchymal stem cells) together with nano biomaterials (such as polymers) to treat and prevent POP.
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We have developed new methods for culturing the mesenchymal stem cells that improve their performance for clinical translation. We now need to ensure the innovative culture methods we have developed are safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In this issue of Hudson News Winter 2025<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
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Hudson News Winter 2025: Director\u2019s message<\/h3>\n \n \n \n <\/g>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n \n \n
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Three leading researchers attack ovarian cancer from all angles<\/h3>\n \n \n \n <\/g>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n \n \n
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