Matt Geib: Reimagining the World of Birth Control
Women have historically carried the financial and health-related burdens of contraception. There are currently around 12 birth control methods marketed toward the demographic, with the most effective options involving hormones. While hormonal contraception methods are more than 90 percent successful in preventing pregnancy, they have also been proven to cause an array of negative side effects on their users.
On the other hand, there are presently only two efficacious birth control options targeted toward men: vasectomies, which are considered permanent, and condoms, which are only 87 percent effective in typical use. Both methods are nonhormonal.
Enter Matt Geib, a second-year PhD candidate at Boston University College of Engineering set out to make contraception a gender-equal conversation. With a concentration in materials science, he seeks to create more effective birth control methods for men.
“I would really love to see something that benefits people, to be out there,” the New Jersey native said. “It’s needed, especially at a time like this when abortion rights are being rolled back and potentially contraceptive rights might be rolled back.”
His doctoral research primarily focuses on integrating antibodies that immobilize sperm into personal lubricants. When these silicone lubricants are used during sex, the antibodies, which are encapsulated within reverse micelles that rupture upon friction, bind and agglutinate sperm to protect users against pregnancy.
This is Geib’s driving focus: a nonhormonal birth control method that offers both contraception and pleasure.
“I think hormonal birth control has helped a lot of people, and it’s been a very liberating drug,” he said. “But in my opinion, I think hormonal contraceptives are harder to have an efficacious dose without creating a whole cascade of negative effects… Women have been accepting a lot of huge negatives — potential blood clots, mood changes, weight gain or a lot of things people don’t necessarily want.”
While this birth control method is agender, Geib wants to market it toward men to expand the range of effective contraception available to them.
He also looks to integrate antibodies that protect against sexually transmitted infections into these lubricants to make them as, if not more, effective as condoms in preventing pregnancy and STIs.
“There’s already a barrier of entry to get some men to use contraception at all,” he said. “If there’s a method that produces more pleasure for both parties, they might want to use that more than a method that protects against STIs as well. So it would be really great if we can make [these lubricants] protective against STIs too.”
His interest in creating accessibility around birth control has led him to explore solutions beyond male contraception.
Outside of his pet research, he works with Deborah Anderson, a professor of medicine at BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, to innovate another form of nonhormonal birth control method: a topical film that dissolves in the vagina to release antibodies that immobilize sperm, protecting users against pregnancy for 2.5 hours.
A separate topical film loaded with antibodies that target the herpes simplex virus and human immunodeficiency virus is also in the works.
While the eventual goal is to create a single strip that offers protection against both pregnancy and STIs, the team’s immediate focus is to develop an effective contraceptive device.
“That’s the bare minimum,” Geib said.
The project, a collaboration with Magee-Womens Research Institute and KBio, is set to enter clinical trials in the next few years.
Geib’s favorite aspect about working in the Anderson lab is the freedom he is given to explore his passions.
“[Anderson]’s much more interested in people being invested in their work and just coming to her for advice when they need it,” he said.
The Anderson lab currently finances his research and development of the personal lubricants.
The lab was also recently awarded a grant by the Male Contraceptive Initiative, with Geib’s project receiving additional funding to further develop the lubricants. Geib hopes to enter them into clinical trials before stocking them on shelves.
While Geib is thoroughly invested in his work, he also acknowledges that these opportunities did not come easy.
Prior to his appointment with the Anderson lab, his peers had advised him to embark on his PhD with the goal of just getting research experience. But Geib was determined to find something he was interested in.
“I would call myself a stubborn person, but I think if you would categorize it positively, I’m a persistent person,” he said. “I knew exactly what I wanted to do coming into my PhD, and I wasn’t really going to compromise on that.”
He eventually found his lab in April 2022 — toward the end of his first academic year when most students would have already been a few months into their research — after contacting the MCI, who put him in touch with Anderson.
Geib recommends incoming graduate students to speak with other student researchers to gain a brief understanding of their work, before entering any university. He also suggests they apply to research grants, if their principal investigators do not want to explore the same ideas as them.
“Don’t forget that what you want to do is what’s going to drive your PhD,” Geib said. “If you can’t find that, then forge your way of doing it.”
By Emily Tan (03/20/2023)