Alum’s breakthrough endometriosis test
Heather Bowerman (Photo courtesy DotLab)Heather Bowerman (B.S.’05 BioE) is CEO and founder of DotLab, a medical diagnostics company that has developed the first non-invasive test for endometriosis, a chronic and debilitating disease affecting 176 million women worldwide.
Endometriosis can present differently in each patient, making it difficult to diagnose. For decades, laparoscopic surgery has been the go-to approach for diagnosing the disease. However, that option can be costly and cause permanent scarring, and it carries the risks related to general anesthesia.
But DotLab’s new test, DotEndo, identifies key microRNA biomarkers that are specific to endometriosis. Peer-reviewed clinical studies to date comparing the test to surgery have shown DotEndo to be highly accurate in detecting the disease.
Bowerman hopes this technology will lead to better outcomes for patients as well as bring much-needed attention to women’s health: “I’m inspired by both the opportunity to positively impact patients — especially women suffering in silence — and by the persistent problem of gender inequality in research and clinical development.”