{"id":5289,"date":"2026-05-13T15:01:05","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T19:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/?post_type=profiles&p=5289"},"modified":"2026-10-09T10:33:54","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T14:33:54","slug":"serenity-howery","status":"publish","type":"profiles","link":"https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/profiles\/serenity-howery\/","title":{"rendered":"Serenity Howery"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"Howery,<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

MIT Department: <\/strong>
Materials Science and Engineering

Faculty Mentor<\/strong>:
Polina Anikeeva

Research Supervisor: <\/strong>
Gari Eberly

Undergraduate Institution:<\/strong>
University of Texas at Austin
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Biography<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Serenity Howery is a rising junior studying Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, with a minor in materials science. As a research assistant in Dr. Nicholas Peppas\u2019 Laboratory of Biomaterials, Drug Delivery, and Bionanotechnology, she develops biodegradable, cationic nanogels designed to bypass the blood-brain barrier. Her research aims to deliver siRNA and resveratrol to treat neuroinflammation and modulate harmful gene expression. Currently, Serenity is an MIT MSRP intern in Dr. Polina Anikeeva\u2019s Bioelectronics Group, where she is developing an adhesive hydrogel to ensure a biocompatible interface between an optoelectronic device and the murine uterus to detect and stimulate uterine contractions. Outside of lab, she serves as President of Projects for Texas HELIX, leading teams to design medical innovations for underserved communities. Serenity plans to pursue a Ph.D. in polymer design and biomaterials research to validate women\u2019s health symptoms and eliminate the historic gap in sex-specific data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Stretchable and Adhesive Tannic Acid – Poly(vinyl alcohol) Hydrogel to Enable
Biocompatible Interfacing with the Murine Uterus
<\/strong>Serenity Howery1<\/sup>, Gari Eberly2,3<\/sup>, Polina Anikeeva3-6<\/sup>
1<\/sup>Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin
2<\/sup>Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
3<\/sup>K. Lisa Yang Brain-Body Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
4<\/sup>K. Lisa Yang Center for Molecular Therapeutics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
5<\/sup>Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
6<\/sup>Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology<\/p>\n\n\n\n


The nonpregnant uterus contracts regularly, but the role of these contractions in maintaining health is unknown. The Anikeeva lab developed an optoelectronic device that can drive uterine contractions in mice, enabling causal studies of the role of these contractions in health. However, these devices are attached to the uterus using sutures, which cause scarring and may disrupt motility patterns. As an alternative, the goal of this project was to develop a soft, biocompatible hydrogel that enables stable device adhesion to the uterus without sutures. Our spin-coated hydrogel consists of a tannic acid-poly(vinyl alcohol) (TA-PVA) backbone and an adhesive poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) layer. Spin-coating the hydrogel ensures homogeneous and reproducible properties, which we characterized using UV-Vis spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, rheological testing, and adhesion testing. The role of TA as a nonswelling agent was also characterized to enable further hydrogel optimization. Chemical reactions underlying hydrogel synthesis were inferred from Raman spectroscopy. Biocompatibility was confirmed via organ bath assays and histology. The resulting hydrogel was shown to enable chronic uterine interfacing, enabling future studies that will better characterize uterine physiology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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