Blossom Ball 2025 - Endometriosis Foundation of America
May 15, 2025
Pierre Hotel in New York City
Tonight, we honor not only a visionary leader in women’s health but also a dear friend and longtime member of the EndoFound family.
The recipient of this year’s Innovation Award has driven groundbreaking progress in ovarian biology and reproductive medicine — fields that have long been underfunded and overlooked. Her work is the definition of bold, evidence-based innovation that delivers lasting change.
Dr. Priyamvada “Priya” P. Bapat is the founder and CEO of Somavac Therapeutics, a pioneering biotech company developing next-generation solutions for ovarian health. With more than 25 years of experience, she has bridged cutting-edge science with real-world impact, always leading with purpose and commitment to improving outcomes for women.
Most recently, she was named one of just 23 recipients of the inaugural ARPA-H Sprint for Women’s Health Initiative, a White House-led effort to accelerate transformative ideas in women’s health.
Priya has been a dedicated EndoFound board member and a passionate advocate for years. Her partnership, wisdom, and friendship have meant a great deal to me personally and to this organization.
She has been recognized by Fortune, Rock Health, and Inc. as a trailblazing founder, breaking barriers in science and biotech. But what inspires me most is how she transformed her personal experience with endometriosis into a mission — a mission to build a better future for millions of women.
It is my great privilege to present the 2025 Innovation Award to my friend and a true leader, Dr. Priya Bapat.
It is my true honor to present this award to Priaye Yurttas Beim, PhD. There is no one more deserving of this recognition this year.
Thank you so much, Priya.
Good evening.
It’s such a privilege to stand here and receive the EndoFound Innovation Award from the Endometriosis Foundation of America, a community I’ve had the honor of serving as a board member and donor for more than six years.
Thank you, Dr. Seckin. Thank you, Padma and the board, and to all of you for everything you do to drive this mission forward.
Like so many women in this room, my journey with endometriosis began long before I had a name for it. I remember the helpless look on my father’s face as he watched me doubled over on the floor in pain during my first period.
My grandmother called it normal. She said it ran in the family, and she told me not to worry — it would get better after I had a baby.
But that baby didn’t come for another two decades. He’s sitting right there — hi, Oliver.
And when he did, it was only after I had found my way to Dr. Seckin, who, like for so many women here, became my surgeon and changed the course of my life.
Within a year of that first appointment, my first child, Oliver, was born. Then came Quentin, and then came Isabelle.
Each pregnancy brought joy and serious complications, including preeclampsia and an endometriosis-related cyst that became life-threatening during my pregnancy with Isabelle.
My children know that I live with endometriosis, and they see the toll that it takes. I’ll never forget what my daughter Isabelle asked me one morning on the way to school.
She said, “Mommy, will your medicines be ready for me?”
That question fuels everything I do.
As a scientist and entrepreneur who has been working to decode the biology of women’s health conditions for 25 years, I’ve had the privilege of leading an incredible team at Somavac, where we’ve spent more than a decade uncovering the genetic and molecular roots of endometriosis.
One of the most important insights to come from our work is the central role that inflammation plays in driving this disease — not just as a symptom, but as a core biological mechanism.
It was that insight that helped us recognize the incredible promise of a drug that targets a key inflammatory pathway in the body known as JNK.
JNK is a sort of molecular alarm system that, when stuck in the “on” position, can drive chronic pain and disease.
This research began with Dr. Steve Palmer, our Chief Scientific Officer at Somavac, who long before his time at Somavac developed the first version of this drug at Baylor College of Medicine.
Thanks to our team’s discoveries, we licensed that program and have been building on it ever since, bringing it closer than ever to the doctor’s office as a first-of-its-kind treatment for endometriosis.
This won’t be just another treatment.
We believe that our JNK program is the first non-opioid, non-hormonal therapy for peripheral pain in endometriosis, and most importantly, it is the first disease-modifying drug for this condition.
A therapy that doesn’t just manage symptoms, but changes the course of the disease. That preserves fertility. That minimizes recurrence. That offers women something they’ve never truly had before — a path to healing.
And unlike my father, who once watched helplessly as I writhed in pain on the floor, I hope I will never have to watch my daughter suffer that way if she is impacted by this disease.
My hope — my mission — is that she will not only have access to the therapies we work so hard to advance at Somavac, but that she will be diagnosed sooner, with far fewer delays, and will have a range of treatments to choose from. Treatments that aren’t just band-aids, but true cures.
Treatments made possible by the extraordinary research being launched through the Seckin Endometriosis Research Center for Women’s Health at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
We’ll keep going until the future looks fundamentally different for Isabelle and for all of us.
As you’ve heard tonight, this is a very exciting time in the field, marked by the launch of the Seckin Endometriosis Research Center for Women’s Health at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
It’s also a tremendous honor for me to step into the role of Chair of the Endometriosis Foundation of America, following Dr. Tamer Seckin, who is not only one of the most accomplished surgeons in the world, but also one of this foundation’s visionary founders.
To follow in his footsteps is no small thing.
I want to acknowledge the weight of that responsibility and the deep gratitude that I feel.
This transition — from a clinician who has helped thousands of women in the operating room to a molecular biologist who has dedicated her career to decoding this disease in the lab — reflects the evolution of the field itself.
It says the era of “we don’t know why this is happening” is ending.
The era of answers is beginning.
We’ve already secured $1 million for the Seckin Endometriosis Research Center for Women’s Health thanks to the extraordinary generosity of Madeline Rudin, and we now have $9 million left to raise to meet the full $10 million match made possible by the generosity of Marilyn Simons and the Simons Foundation.
I believe wholeheartedly that this community can help us get there.
Because one day, when Isabelle asks me again if the medicines will be ready for her, I want to be able to tell her without hesitation:
“Yes, they are coming.”
But this moment isn’t just about research. It’s about the full arc of transformation this foundation is driving — from the classroom to the clinic to the Capitol.
Through the ENPOWR Project, the only nationwide initiative educating adolescents of all genders about endometriosis, EndoFound is helping young people recognize symptoms early and advocate for care.
Our College Ambassador Program engages student leaders across U.S. campuses in peer-to-peer education.
Our annual Patient Day and Medical Conference continue to build community and advance the frontier of science and surgery, bringing together world experts to challenge the status quo.
We’ve invested nearly $2 million in research across more than 30 institutions, with several grantees going on to secure major NIH funding.
We’ve helped pass landmark legislation in New York State requiring menstrual health education, including information about endometriosis, through our grassroots advocacy and the ENPOWR Project.
And we’re preparing the next generation of endometriosis experts through mentorship and surgical training.
This is what it looks like when we refuse to accept invisibility.
When we choose momentum.
Every dollar we raise tonight in the auction brings us closer to a future where our daughters, sisters, and friends don’t just manage this disease — they overcome it.
So please give generously.
Let’s make this a turning point for endometriosis, starting right now.
