Our mission is to increase endometriosis awareness, fund landmark research, provide advocacy and support for patients, and educate the public and medical community.
Founders: Padma Lakshmi, Tamer Seckin, MD
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Endometriosis Research Awards 2017

As part of Endometriosis Awareness Month please consider a donation to Endometriosis research.  Thank you. 

The Endometriosis Foundation of America (Endofound) announced today, as part of Endometriosis Awareness Month, they have awarded a total of $200,000 in research funding to research projects focusing on endometriosis.

“The Endofound’s mission is to fund landmark endometriosis research,” said Tamer Seckin, MD, FACOG, and Founder & Medical Director of the Endofound. “Research is so important because it helps us to understand the sub-types of endometriosis; something that will assist us to develop better treatment strategies. This research embraces the pertinent and important topics that cover the social impact of endometriosis as well as looking at the cellular and molecular make-up of the disease.”

The research studies range from understanding the pathogenesis of endometriosis to lead to improved treatments, to developing a biomarker to predict endometriosis earlier while also potentially uncovering a therapeutic strategy for endometriosis-associated pain, to a mobile app to track and understand the disease. 

"I am very grateful to the Endofound for supporting the work of the Citizen Endo project (Phendo App). There is a disconnect between the women’s experience of endometriosis and the current medical understanding of its symptoms and potential treatments, and as such there is a dire need for researchers to bridge this gap. With the growing awareness about endometriosis, the voice of women suffering from the disease getting louder, and advances in big data and health analytics, it is an exciting time to contribute to research in endometriosis and work towards a cure.," said awardee Noemie Elhadad, PhD, an Associate Professor of Biomedical Informatics and Computer Science at Columbia University. Her work is at the intersection of medicine, big data, and more recently mobile health.

Jhumka Gupta, an Assistant Professor of Global and Community Health at George Mason University, is studying how endometriosis (including symptoms suggestive of endometriosis) might impact the social, academic, and economic well-being of college-aged women.

“We are seeing some great opportunities to understand endometriosis from all perspectives,” said Seckin.

In 2016, The National Institutes of Health (NIH) had a total budget of $32.3 billion and only $11 million was allocated for endometriosis research, the same amount allotted for 2017. The Endofound is pushing for government agencies, foundations and others to recognize and prioritize endometriosis funding for 2018.

“The prevalence of endometriosis is approximately one in ten women,” said Seckin. “The world tends to know much more about life-threatening diseases that are less prevalent than endometriosis but do not consider how much endometriosis can affect one’s life as well as the lives around the sufferer. Research is going to open the door to new diagnosis and treatment options.”

The Endofound, a nonprofit organization dedicated to combating endometriosis, a debilitating reproductive disease that affects one in ten women of childbearing age in the United States, strives to increase disease recognition, provide advocacy, facilitate expert surgical training, and fund landmark endometriosis research.

Phendo, an App to Track and Understand Endometriosis

Phendo, an App to Track and Understand Endometriosis

Columbia University Principal Investigator: Noemie Elhadad, PhD, Associate Professor Biomedical Informatic, Computer Science, Columbia Data Science Institute Key Personnel: Sylvia English, MS. Project Manager Mollie McKillop, MS, MA. PhD Student…

Innovations in understanding and responding to the psycho-social health impacts of endometriosis among young adult women

Innovations in understanding and responding to the psycho-social health impacts of endometriosis among young adult women

Institution George Mason University Principal Investigator: Jhumka Gupta, ScD, MPH Key Personnel: Julie E. Painter, PhD. (Co-Investigator). Dr. Painter is Assistant Professor and Behavioral Scientist in the Department of Global and Community…

Estrogen receptors alpha and beta influence attachment of endometrial cells to peritoneal mesothelial cells

Estrogen receptors alpha and beta influence attachment of endometrial cells to peritoneal mesothelial cells

University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Principal Investigator: Jennifer Knudtson, MD., University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Summary Our study will examine ER-β and ER-α expression in eutopic…

Global multivariant analysis of putative biomarkers identified through a combined multi-technical approach for the early non-invasive detection of endometriosis

Global multivariant analysis of putative biomarkers identified through a combined multi-technical approach for the early non-invasive detection of endometriosis

FUNDACION PARA LA INVESTIGACION DEL HOSPITAL CLINICO DE LA COMUNITAT VALENCIANA, FUNDACION INCLIVA Principal Investigator: Raúl Gómez Key Personnel: Medical area: Key personnel Drs Antonio Pellicer and Antonio Cano. Biotechnological…

The Environmental Contaminant di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) Induces Endometriosis

The Environmental Contaminant di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) Induces Endometriosis

University of Cincinnati College of Medicine Principal Investigator: Katherine A. Burns, PhD University of Cincinnati College of Medicine Key Personnel Stephanie Lang is a Research Associate in the Burns Laboratory. Stephanie had 12 years of…

Utilizing the Microbiome to Diagnose Endometriosis

Utilizing the Microbiome to Diagnose Endometriosis

Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Medicine Principal Investigator: Andrea Braundmeier-Fleming, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology (MMICB) Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology…

Altered Hippo Signaling Pathway in Endometriosis

Altered Hippo Signaling Pathway in Endometriosis

College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University Principal Investigator: Dr. Niraj R. Joshi (Ph.D.) Department of Ob/ GYN & Reproductive Biology Summary Identification of mechanisms involved in ectopic lesions development and growth…

Enhanced endometrial-mesothelial gap junction communication in endometriosis

Enhanced endometrial-mesothelial gap junction communication in endometriosis

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Principal Investigator: Nameer Kirma, PhD, Associate Professor, Dept. Molecular Medicine Director, Bioanalytics and Single-Cell Core Key Personnel Nicholas Lucio, BA Summary The lack…

Analyze the Molecular Genetic Landscape of Endometriosis

Analyze the Molecular Genetic Landscape of Endometriosis

Departments of Gynecology and Obstetrics and Pathology, Johns Hopkins University Principal Investigator: Ie-Ming Shih, MD, PhD Dr. Ie-Ming Shih is the Richard TeLinde Distinguished Professor (Endowed Professorship) of Gynecologic Pathology…

Reducing reactive aldehyde levels to treat endometriosis-associated pain

Reducing reactive aldehyde levels to treat endometriosis-associated pain

Stanford University School of Medicine Principal Investigator: Eric R. Gross MD, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, University Tenure Line Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine Stanford University, School of Medicine Key Personnel…