Federal Grant Award Summary

Carnegie Mellon University received a $575,000 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CFDA 47.041 Engineering program) awarded June 15, 2026, with completion targeted for May 31, 2031. The project delivers an integrated multiscale computational framework combining physics-based modeling and machine learning to advance understanding of placental blood flow, oxygen transport, and microstructure development. Key research products include three complementary computational models characterizing intervillous space hemodynamics, quantifying mechanical regulation of placental villi development, and determining how structural changes affect fetal oxygen delivery. These simulation and analytical tools are designed to elucidate placental function in both healthy and pathological states, ultimately informing strategies to improve maternal and fetal health outcomes.

In addition to research deliverables, the award supports an integrated education and outreach program leveraging a "learning by teaching" pedagogical approach. The project will produce educational materials and training opportunities enabling engineering students to develop technical knowledge in placental biomechanics while building science communication skills to engage broader audiences in understanding maternal and fetal health through an engineering lens. By establishing a novel engineering framework that bridges experimental data with computational modeling, the research aims to generate fundamental insights into placental physiology that advance both scientific understanding and clinical applications.