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By Maria Carla Rozorea
As a fellow in the MIT Postdoctoral Fellowship Program for Engineering Excellence, Shaniel Bowen explores a topic that has seen little research — women's sexual anatomy and health.
Shaniel Bowen, a biomedical engineer, has shifted her focus from studying human movement to researching women's sexual anatomy and health, driven by both personal and professional experiences.
Bowen’s interest in biomedical engineering started when, as a child, she was captivated by the exoskeletons in the video game “Metal Gear Solid 2.” By the time she was a senior at the University of Connecticut, Bowen had worked with a team to develop a device that assisted people with leg weakness using musculoskeletal modeling. She was on her way to creating exoskeletons until a personal medical crisis reshaped her path entirely.
Diagnosed with ovarian torsion caused by a teratoma, Bowen experienced firsthand the healthcare disparities faced by Black women. This experience inspired her to focus on women’s health, particularly from a biomechanics perspective. During her doctoral studies, she researched pelvic organ prolapse (POP), a condition causing discomfort and dysfunction in women, and developed tools to better understand and prevent surgical failures in POP repairs.
Her research earned her a Ford Foundation Fellowship, and after completing her PhD at the University of Pittsburgh, Bowen accepted a postdoctoral fellowship at MIT in 2023, where she now explores an area of research that has received little attention: women's sexual health, specifically the anatomy of the clitoris and sexual function after gynecological surgery.
Bowen’s commitment extends beyond research. She has spent nearly a decade volunteering in STEM outreach, mentoring students and promoting women’s health education. She emphasizes the importance of having diverse perspectives in STEM to improve health outcomes for all women.
At MIT, her work not only addresses a critical gap in women’s healthcare, but also challenges the historical neglect of sexual health in medical research. Through her groundwork and advocacy, she is helping to shape a future where women’s health is approached with the same precision, care, and innovation that other areas of medicine have long enjoyed.
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