Hundreds of women die every day due to excessive bleeding after childbirth, but this can be prevented by an injection of the hormone oxytocin, which stimulates uterine contractions that reduce bleeding. Yet oxytocin must be kept cold, and developing countries often lack the resources to transport and store the hormone. Nor do they have enough trained personnel to administer the shot.
Benjamin Tien, who graduated from Princeton in 2015 with a degree in chemical and biological engineering, has been awarded a Fulbright grant to join a research team developing an aerosolized, inhalable version of oxytocin. He’ll work at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Australia to use a technique called “spray-drying” to turn liquid oxytocin into a dry powder that can be released from an inexpensive, disposable device. This would cut out the need for special storage conditions, eliminate the risk of infection from needles, and make the treatment available even to women giving birth at home.
While at Princeton, Tien conducted senior thesis research on nanoparticles for dealing with bacterial infections such as cholera or pseudomonas with Robert Prud’homme, a professor of chemical and biological engineering and Tien’s thesis adviser. During the summer before his senior year, Tien worked at a startup company in Boston called Diagnostics for All that develops medical diagnostics for developing countries.
While doing research in Australia, Tien will also work with the Poche Center for Indigenous Health, an organization that aims to improve the health of indigenous Australians with an emphasis on forming lasting relationships with the communities. “I want to get a better sense of the challenges people are facing on the ground, which will help me know what to focus on in my career,” Tien said.
-By Takim Williams