WoW Woman in Tech I Dr. Philippa Woodhams, biomedical engineer at electronRx
Dr. Philippa Woodhams is a biomedical engineer at electronRx. Her PhD from the University of Cambridge was awarded for developing electronic interfaces with neurons to study Parkinson’s disease. Since joining electronRx in 2019, she has been involved in a full range of projects throughout the company, including Ohmm tackling dysmenorrhea and heading up the neuromodulation team.
electronRx is a deep tech team of interdisciplinary scientists and engineers developing novel technologies to sense the physiological environment and inform personalised therapeutic interventions. By building this interface between technology and the human body, the team is ushering in a new therapeutic paradigm that will transform how we deliver healthcare and treat disease.
Philippa, tell us a bit about your background and your projects so far.
At school, I remember we took a career suggestion quiz; it suggested that I become a medical physicist! While that never guided any of my options, looking back I can see why this career was recommended to me as it’s the perfect place for someone who enjoys scientific problem solving, but also wants to do work that they know will help people in the real world.
I’ve always been interested in the physical sciences, studying a Chemical Physics undergraduate then doing a more materials-based Master’s degree. During my Masters, I was lucky enough to do a short project with a predominantly biological group and was then able to continue this work into my PhD, working with Dr. Gabi Kaminski-Schierle. At the time, it felt like a big change to interact with biologists but also meant that I learnt so much. I found great joy in working on a project which I knew had a long-term potential to help people struggling with Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s disease.
Entering the job market, it was clear that health technology was a great field to continue in, and I have learnt a great deal working for an ambitious company in this field. For me, one of our most exciting projects is Ohmm - a device to relieve period pain. I know personally, and from so many female friends and family members about how disruptive period pain can be and am excited to be part of a team doing something to solve this.
How did you get into this industry? Has it been an easy industry to get into or have you had many challenges?
As someone who was naturally good at and enjoyed the physical sciences, a career in technology has always been an obvious route. I personally never had any problems entering the industry; I simply applied for relevant opportunities and was accepted. I think this is partly down to having very supportive supervisors and bosses throughout my work and having witnessed people in my life take these types of routes before me.
How long did it take you to be where you are now? What was the biggest obstacle? What are the challenges of being in the industry you are in?
I’ve been in medical physics for 7 years now, and have the opportunity to work on a range of amazing projects. For me, the biggest obstacle has been risky projects failing. At certain points, it has been a struggle to find the motivation to continue working on the project or start again from scratch. At these moments, it’s been critical to be working with a great team, and with talented bosses and supervisors who have encouraged me to continue. Looking back, I’ve learnt so much from projects that appeared to have failed, and in a field with so many promising directions, I know there’s always a new project just around the corner that can be tackled next.
What are your biggest achievements to date?
Within electronRx, it’s been great to build an open culture from the ground up in which each person has a crucial role to play, drive their work, and respect that. It’s played such a crucial role in our success up until now; enabling maximum creativity when tackling the complex problems that we do. I’m excited to watch this culture grow and truly blossom as the team expands and we bring our products closer to the market.
What are the projects you are currently working on?
I’m currently focusing a lot of my time on our Ohmm project. We have recently been awarded a grant from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, to continue the development of our novel period pain relief technology, Ohmm. Almost every woman I know suffers from period pain, which is why I’m so excited to really start moving the project forward. I know that every bit of progress in this project gets us closer and closer to getting the discreet wearable device into the hands of the women who need it.
According to the WHO, dysmenorrhea (the medical term for period pain) may affect up to 81% of women of reproductive age [1] and is the leading cause of absence from school or work among these women [2]. Ohmm is an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of billions of women around the world needlessly enduring pain in silence. We aim to provide a serious solution to treating dysmenorrhea; a condition which has until now been incredibly underserved by the medical field [3]. This grant will allow the eRx team to develop the current prototype and run the clinical studies that will take the device through regulatory approval. It’s a really exciting time for our team!
Is the #WomenInTech movement important to you and if yes, why?
I believe it’s really important that women are working in the tech industry. As with all situations where a group is in a minority, it is important to know there are other people like you out there, tackling and overcoming the same struggles you face.
It’s especially important for women to be championing women’s health products, as they are more likely to struggle with the problem themselves, or know someone personally who struggles with the problem. This keeps the end user's needs in mind, which influences each of the small decisions that go into making a product.
What will be the key trends in your industry in the next five years and where do you see them heading?
Our work at electronRx spans a few different industries, so I’ll focus on our Ohmm project exclusively. As companies like Clue and Flo become near-household names, I believe collecting vast amounts of clinically relevant health data from women using ubiquitous infrastructures like smartphones will become more and more commonplace and therefore more prevalent. This will have two effects.
Firstly, within the next five years, personalisation will begin to take centre stage; AI and machine learning will be applied to previously inaccessible sources of health data to suggest, or in the most advanced forms apply, therapeutic interventions tailored to the unique physiology of the individual, in turn improving patient outcomes.
Secondly, as health tech companies geared towards women’s issues continue to succeed, and their messages of female empowerment are heard, other corners of the healthcare landscape will follow suit. By this I mean that the diversity of participants in clinical trials will increase and this will trickle down into an improved understanding of women’s health and experiences, renewed efforts to develop more effective treatments for underserved conditions that primarily affect women, and an overall improvement in the outcomes of female patients.
What is the most important piece of advice you could give to anyone who wants to start a career in this industry?
Work hard, work consistently and don’t be afraid to take on new tasks where you can grow your experience and skills. It’s good to have slightly different background; it can help you see a different approach to problem-solving that others may not see. Don’t be afraid to take risks and tackle problems that seem too big for you to solve at that current moment.
Who are three inspirational women in your respective industry you admire?
I’ve always been most inspired by the women that I have personally worked with, whether that’s older women who have pushed hard to develop successful careers, my peers who have shared the highs and lows of my work, or yonder women who are just starting and looking to take the next steps. They are all paving the way for more talented and brilliant women to climb up the ladder behind them and I find that really inspiring.
This interview was conducted by Marija Butkovic, Digital Marketing and PR strategist, founder, and CEO of Women of Wearables. She regularly writes and speaks on topics of wearable tech, fashion tech, IoT, entrepreneurship, and diversity. Follow Marija on Twitter @MarijaButkovic and read her stories for Forbes here.