Connecting Needs with Solutions: A student chooses entrepreneurship to improve women's health

PhD Innovation Program fellow Becca Thomson '20 Th'21 in the tissue engineering lab. (Photo by Catha Mayor)

"I specialize in bridging the gap between clinical needs and cutting-edge technology," she says. "My academic career involves extensive surgeon shadowing and interaction, allowing me to identify critical needs in healthcare and develop innovative medical solutions."

Thomson is also founder and CEO of NovaGyn, a startup advancing surgical solutions in women's health applications. NovaGyn's initial focus is on addressing needs in pelvic floor reconstructive surgeries through material biofabrication and tissue engineering. Currently, "we're dedicated to pioneering solutions for stress urinary incontinence," she says.

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is prevalent in more than 25 percent of women. Conventional treatment using synthetic surgical mesh to support the urethra can cause tissue erosion and other pain­ful complications. Thomson is developing a nanofibrous scaffold that decreases roughness and promotes healthy connective tissue growth to provide permanent urethral support for patients experiencing severe SUI.

Thomson recently received a $300,000 one-year phase-one Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant from NIH. We spoke with her about this news and to learn more about her journey:

First of all, congratulations on the award!

Thank you! I'm very excited for this opportunity. I had applied for this grant last year and got a 'no' along with some feedback. I made edits based on their critiques and resubmitted, and I got my official notice of the award this past August.

For this phase-one grant, I'll be creating the coaxial construct of my scaffold where each fiber is incased in a soft, silk sheath and the core is a strong bioplastic. Phase one is all about feasibility—can you actually make the thing that you proposed? Then phase two will be efficacy—does it actually do what you want it to do?

How did you get here after starting your PhD in the orthopedic device retrieval program?

This is my fourth year in Doug Van Citters' lab, and I still do some work in joint implant retrieval analysis. But the Innovation Program has allowed me to branch out into an area I'm really passionate about and that is very under-researched—women's health.

It's been a journey to get where I am. I also went to undergrad here and thought I wanted to go to med school and be a doctor. I took 'Biomaterials' with Professor Van Citters my junior year and got connected with Dr. Jonathan Shaw, a urogynecology surgeon at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. 

I did a project with him on fascia slings—which is currently an alternative to the rough, synthetic mesh—where the surgeon harvests part of the patient's IT band and uses that soft, connective tissue as the urethral support. However, when you put soft connective tissue in the pelvic floor, an anchoring mechanism is needed. We focused on mechanical testing of different suturing techniques, and he's now my clinical collaborator for the urogynecology research.

When COVID hit, I had just finished my BE and was figuring out what to do next. I had always been interested in research, but never had time because of my varsity rowing and academic commitments. As both a fellow rower and my undergrad advisor, Professor Van Citters encouraged me to apply to the Master of Science program. 

He could not have been more right. I fell in love with research—the curiosity it inspires, and the challenge it poses to ask questions and conduct thoughtful experiments to answer those questions. I developed a knowledge base of materials science through my classes and lab work on orthopedic implants during my first year. 

Becca Thomson '20 Th'21 represents her company, NovaGyn, at the annual Dartmouth Engineering Open House. (Photo by Catha Mayor)

What made you decide to continue on to the PhD Innovation Program?

I decided to apply after thinking through how to approach translating my research to the world to help real people with real problems. I've always wanted to help people. I realized there were really two ways for me, with my background and interests, to directly impact people—either by helping one patient at a time in the clinic as a physician, or by developing an engineered solution to a clinical problem which can help thousands or even millions of people. 

So as I developed my passion for research, I realized the Innovation Program's surgical track—with a biomaterial and women's health focus—could tie it all together by giving me the knowledge and tools to translate that research to market.

I was able to reconnect with Dr. Shaw and pick up where we left off in undergrad. We started to ideate on a complete alternative to synthetic mesh that wouldn't require a second procedure which pointed us toward a naturally-derived tissue-engineered scaffold.

How were you able to win an STTR grant as a student?

First off, I could not have done it without the help of not only Professor Van Citters and Dr. Shaw, but also professors Katie Hixon and Chuck Wira—a microbiology professor at Geisel School of Medicine—and many others inside and outside of Dartmouth. 

The initial development of the scaffold was done through a $50,000 NSF seed grant that Dr. Shaw, Professor Wira, and I applied for. I used that to jumpstart the initial prototypes and preliminary data for the STTR application.

Funding a startup is always tricky, and applying for an STTR was a lot of work, but totally doable. Partnering with Dartmouth faculty gave me—as a first-time, student principal investigator—the credibility that I can actually complete the grant successfully.

I'm ecstatic about this opportunity and challenge as a student being able to run my own lab, business, and grant all at once.

When did you become passionate about women's health?

I didn't know how little research has been done. Dr. Shaw opened my eyes to how far we still have to go to see where the problems are and develop new methods and materials to improve and advance the standard of care for women.

What is the problem with current treatment of SUI?

One in three women experience SUI every week, and many employ non-surgical intervention. Each year, however, three hundred thousand women in the US undergo surgery for urethral sling placement. Polypropylene midurethral slings have proven successful at alleviating symptoms, but they come with biocompatibility issues and notorious complications. 

One of the most serious is tissue erosion and mesh exposure, where the synthetic sling rubs through the surrounding tissue. Having an alternative material that's softer, more biocompatible and temporary—that your body absorbs over time—solves a lot of the long-term risks associated with the polypropylene mesh.

How does your proposed solution work?

I'm working to create a naturally-derived scaffold that will dissolve over time while encouraging healthy formation of connective tissue that permanently supports the urethra. Our material utilizes your body's natural ability to heal itself and create tissue that's collagen-rich and strong, like a tendon.

I'm designing the structure of the scaffold, the alignment and orientation, to promote creation of that fibrous tissue only where it's needed. I think the biggest challenge will be efficacy of the new tissue over the long term—making sure the scaffold provides enough support until your body can support itself, and doesn't provide too much or doesn't degrade too early so that the symptoms recur.

What do you think of entrepreneurship so far?

The most exciting thing is being able to wear all the different hats associated with starting a new business—seeing the business side, the regulatory side, the legal side, the clinical side, and the science side. I've been really lucky to be able to explore a lot of different avenues and push this project and venture forward to see where it goes.

I'm learning so much by starting a company—applying for grants, talking with investors and surgeons, and doing pitches. With the Innovation Program and the infrastructure and connections Dartmouth provides, I've been able to lean into all the opportunities. I'm learning as I go, but loving it.

What advice would you give a budding entrepreneur?

Don't think too much and just do it. Commit to it and don't let fear stop you. There are so many people who want to help, want to advise, want to be involved, and want to see you succeed. 

While I am slightly biased, I think Dartmouth is the best place to do it. I can't speak highly enough of my advisors, the Innovation Program, my lab mates and colleagues, and the Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship. While also having Tuck School of Business and the medical center just around the corner, we have a unique community and ecosystem to be able to move projects like mine forward.

And from what I've seen, at least in the Upper Valley and Boston area, the field of women's health is a strong community. Once we get more recognition and more funding, that'll be promising for everyone.