Young biotech innovators pursue new approaches to maternal health, gene editing and ageing

MIT Technology Review has profiled nine biotech innovators under 35, highlighting work ranging from a low-cost device for postpartum haemorrhage to flexible brain electrodes, personalised gene editing and AI-designed bacteriophages. The publication details the work of five of the researchers.

Paschal Kija, 28, developed the $70 Mkanda Salama device, designed to treat postpartum haemorrhage. One study reported that it stopped bleeding within 20 minutes in 73 per cent of women, although the source does not provide details of the study’s size, design or setting.

Xiao Yang is developing ultra-small, flexible brain electrodes intended to reduce damage to surrounding tissue. She has also created kirigami-inspired electrode sheets with a honeycombed, spiral-basket structure for studying brain cells in the laboratory.

Sarah Grandinette, 26, was part of a team that developed a personalised gene-editing treatment for a baby with a rare genetic disorder. The treatment was designed after researchers created cells carrying the child’s genetic variant and screened potential approaches before testing medicines in animals. The child received the resulting treatment at about seven months old and was later discharged from hospital.

Other work highlighted by the publication includes experimental cellular reprogramming for eye disease and bacteriophages designed with generative artificial intelligence. A therapy based on research that reset cells towards a more embryonic-like state has begun human testing for eye disease, while Samuel King’s AI-designed bacteriophage DNA produced viruses capable of reproducing and infecting nearby bacteria in experiments. The source does not report outcomes from the eye-disease trial or establish practical applications for the engineered viruses.