Rea's research began with a question most diagnostics companies never ask: whether clinically validated biomarkers could be detected passively, from a wearable surface, without any active sample collection at all.

At EPFL, in the research group of Professor Carlotta Guiducci, our team engineered biosensors onto flexible substrates capable of detecting cervicovaginal biomarkers in real time. That early work — building a wearable diagnostic surface from first principles — produced the foundational patents and the scientific platform that Rea is built on.

The self-collected swab we are validating today is a deliberate simplification of that platform: a form factor optimised for regulatory clarity, manufacturing scale, and clinical adoption. But the underlying detection capability is broader than a single analyte or a single form factor.

Our first clinical application is a self-collected vaginal swab for preterm birth risk. The test is designed to indicate whether a woman is at elevated risk of preterm delivery, to inform the next clinical conversation with her doctor.

The scientific development of this test has been conducted in collaboration with Professor David Baud, Head of Obstetrics at Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV). Professor Baud and his team have been scientific partners from the earliest research phase and remain so today.

Much of our work happens in partnership with clinical investigators. We collaborate with maternal-fetal medicine specialists, obstetric teams, and research hospitals on scientific questions that range from single-biomarker validation to multi-analyte research platforms.

Rea's research sits at the intersection of biosensor engineering, obstetric medicine, and women's health diagnostics. We work on the scientific questions that determine whether a self-collected diagnostic test can meet the standards required for clinical decision-making.

Peer-reviewed publications and additional conference presentations from the Rea team will be listed here.

Rea Diagnostics is a clinical-stage company developing diagnostic tests for women's health, with a first clinical program in preterm birth. The company is a spin-off of the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), and is based at the EPFL Innovation Park in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Rea's scientific and commercial development has been supported by competitive grants from leading research foundations and public innovation agencies, and recognised by entrepreneurship programmes across Europe and North America.

We are always interested in meeting scientists, engineers, and clinical and regulatory professionals who share our mission. If you would like to work with us, please contact us at contact@readiagnostics.com.

For students and early-career researchers, we also run an Early Careers Program with master thesis, post-master, and industrial internship tracks.

Our Early Careers Program is built for people who want to do serious scientific work, not carry out administrative tasks. Every participant contributes to an active research program, works alongside our scientists and engineers, and leaves with their own piece of work that belongs to them — a master thesis, a patent contribution, a publication, or a foundation for their PhD.

Fifteen alumni to date, across three tracks. Researchers have joined us from Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, and Morocco, and continue their work today in laboratories and companies across Europe and North America.

Some have continued at Rea full-time. Others have gone on to PhDs and academic positions at EPFL and other research institutions in Europe and North America.