Dr. Canan Dagdeviren is a tenured Associate Professor in the MIT Media Lab’s Program in Media Arts and Sciences, where she leads the Conformable Decoders research group. She is also faculty lead for the MIT Media Lab’s Women’s Health Program, WHx. Her lab develops mechanically adaptive, body-integrated technologies that translate physical patterns from the human body and the natural world into meaningful signals, therapeutic action, and usable energy.
At the Media Lab, Dagdeviren’s Conformable Decoders group creates next-generation wearable, implantable, and minimally invasive systems that seamlessly interface with the body. Her work is guided by the belief that the body continuously produces coded physical patterns — through motion, pressure, sound, electrical activity, and biochemical change — and that carefully designed materials and devices can decode these patterns to improve human health.
A major focus of Dagdeviren’s recent work is women’s health innovation. Through WHx and her broader research program, she advances technologies that address long-standing gaps in women’s health, including wearable and personalized systems for early detection, monitoring, and more equitable access to care. Her wearable ultrasound breast patch, inspired in part by the loss of her aunt to breast cancer, reflects this mission: to build technologies that are scientifically rigorous, accessible, human-centered, and responsive to unmet clinical needs.
Beyond the laboratory, Dagdeviren is an internationally recognized voice for science, health innovation, and women in STEM. She has spoken at global forums including the United Nations, where she has highlighted the importance of inclusive innovation, scientific leadership, and expanding opportunities for women and girls in technology.
