Harvard doctor invents ‘vagina on a chip’ to replace animal testing for women’s health issues
Dr. Zohreh Izadifar of Harvard and Boston Children’s Hospital developed a 'vagina-on-a-chip' device to replace animal testing in women’s health research, winning the £50,000 Lush Prize 2026 for Science. The chip mimics the human vaginal microbiome and hormonal changes, enabling real-time study of infections like bacterial vaginosis and treatment effects without relying on mice, which lack comparable biological processes.
A Harvard-affiliated researcher has created the world’s first 'vagina-on-a-chip,' a lab-grown model of the female reproductive tract that replicates human biology to advance women’s health research. Dr. Zohreh Izadifar, an assistant professor at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, designed the chip using donated human vaginal cells grown on a permeable plastic membrane, mimicking tissue structure and function. The device, roughly the size of a USB drive, includes electrical sensors to monitor real-time reactions to infections, medications, and environmental changes. The technology addresses long-standing limitations in women’s health studies, where animal testing—particularly with mice—has proven unreliable due to key biological differences. Mice do not menstruate or experience menopause similarly to humans, nor do they develop conditions like bacterial vaginosis (BV) naturally, complicating research into fertility, pregnancy complications, and infections. Izadifar noted that the chip allows scientists to study the vaginal microbiome, hormonal effects, and chronic conditions without these discrepancies. Developed in 2022, the chip has already been recognized with the £50,000 Lush Prize 2026 for Science, awarded this month for its potential to transform understudied areas of women’s health. Izadifar emphasized the need to bridge gaps in research, as decades of underinvestment have left many aspects of female biology poorly understood. The device could lead to more effective treatments for conditions like BV, which affects over 25% of reproductive-age women globally, by providing a human-relevant model for testing therapies. The chip’s real-time monitoring capabilities offer a significant advantage over traditional methods, enabling researchers to observe cellular responses dynamically. Izadifar, also a research scholar at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, highlighted the device’s role in uncovering mechanisms behind chronic conditions and identifying vulnerabilities in the female reproductive system. By eliminating reliance on animal models, the technology aligns with ethical and scientific advancements in biomedical research.
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