Womb to improve: engineering a better start to life
We all start life in the same place – in the comfort and safety of a uterus. Even before our conception, this dazzling organ is a model of hard work, adapting and preparing every month for the chance of a pregnancy. When a pregnancy does happen, it adapts again to nourish us via our placenta until we are born.
Despite hosting the start of every human life, the uterus is studied far less than other organs. This is a major issue, because uterine dysfunction contributes to chronic pain and infertility for women, and lifelong health problems for malnourished babies.
In this talk Professor Alys Clark will guide you through the amazing work of the uterus, and share how maths and engineering tools are used by her team to improve the health of those with a uterus, and those born from it.
Bio
Alys Clark is a Professor of Bioengineering, a field that uses maths and engineering tools to improve health, in the Auckland Bioengineering Institute. She researches reproductive health and co-leads The Pregnancy Health Group on research that includes a virtual pregnancy (like a real pregnancy but on a computer). She also works on improving medical and wearable technologies. Alys studied mathematics at the Universities of Oxford and Adelaide before joining ABI in 2009.
Event
Tuesday, 25 August 2026, 6:00pm – 7:00pm @16 Tun, 10/26 Jellicoe Street, Auckland CBD, Auckland 1010
The other talk at this location is Setting baby on a healthy path: the influence of mum and dad at 7:30pm – 8:30pm
