Christine M. O'Brien

Research

Professor O'Brien is passionate about developing translational optical technologies that can improve women's health care. The O'Brien lab develops optical tools that tackle important challenges spanning maternal-fetal health, pelvic floor health, and women's global health, using optical spectroscopy, optical imaging and simulation techniques that can be translated to impact patient care.

Biography

Professor O'Brien joined the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis in the summer of 2022. Her dissertation focused on the development of optical spectroscopy tools for investigating biochemical changes in cervix tissue throughout pregnancy in animal models and patients as a method to assess preterm labor risk. As a postdoctoral scholar she developed optical diagnostics for in vivo cancer detection and tumor margin determination. She was awarded a K99/R00 grant from the NIH to develop novel wearable sensors that provide an early alert of postpartum hemorrhage, the leading global cause of maternal mortality. She also has projects focused on preterm birth and pelvic floor health.

Centers & Affiliations

Center for Women’s Health Engineering
Imaging Sciences Pathway
Center for Reproductive Health Sciences
Biophotonics Research Center
Institute for Clinical and Translational Sciences