NIH Women’s Health Roundtable: Endometriosis
Date and Time
– August 19, 2024, 2:30 PM EDT
Beyond the Lesion: Charting New Paths is the second event of NIH Women’s Health Roundtable Series, which focuses on important women’s health topics, such as endometriosis, as part of the White House Women’s Health Research Initiative. This series was developed as a recommended action in response to the Presidential Memorandum to bring attention to priority topics within the Department of Health and Human Services and to disseminate information on federally supported research areas. For more information about the series, visit the NIH Women's Health Roundtable Series page.
This roundtable is co-hosted by the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The goal of the endometriosis roundtable is to bring together diverse stakeholders, including researchers, clinicians, and community members to foster collaborative discussions and share insights on the latest developments in endometriosis research, diagnosis, and treatment. This collaborative effort aims to identify key challenges and develop strategies to improve patient care.
 | Sawsan As-Sanie, M.D., M.P.H. Sawsan As-Sanie, M.D., M.P.H., is the Ferguson Endowed Professor of obstetrics and gynecology, co-chief of gynecology, director of the Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery Program, and director of the Endometriosis and Chronic Pelvic Pain Program at the University of Michigan. Dr. As-Sanie is an NIH-funded clinician scientist committed to improving the health care of women with chronic pelvic pain and endometriosis. Her research focuses on the epidemiology, neurobiology, and mechanism-based treatment of endometriosis and other pelvic pain disorders, and she has been involved in several different professional organizations devoted to this research. She is an elected member of the American Gynecological & Obstetrical Society and the Society for Gynecologic Surgeons, and she is a past-president of the International Pelvic Pain Society. Dr. As-Sanie is currently a board member of the World Endometriosis Society, past chair of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine Endometriosis Special Interest Group, and a member of the Society of Women’s Health Research Network on Female Pelvic Health. |
 | Diana Falzone Diana Falzone is an ambassador for the Endometriosis Foundation of America (EndoFound), and she has testified before Congress on Capitol Hill about the compelling need for endometriosis education, research, and funding. Additionally, Ms. Falzone is the host and executive producer of EndoFound’s EndoTV, a digital educational channel committed to raising awareness by highlighting patient’s stories, current research, and the science of endometriosis. In 2016, Ms. Falzone was diagnosed with endometriosis and infertility. After her diagnosis, she became committed to raising awareness of endometriosis and aligned with the Endometriosis Foundation. Her advocacy was integral to the passage of the historic Menstrual Health and Endometriosis Education Act in New York. Ms. Falzone is a journalist who currently serves as a senior reporter at Mediaite. Previously, she was a contributing editor for the Daily Beast, a contributor for Rolling Stone, and a reporter for Fox News. Her work has been seen in Vanity Fair and Vice News, among other outlets, and she was a talk show host for SiriusXM. |
 | Stacey Missmer, S.M., Sc.D. Stacey Missmer, S.M., Sc.D., is professor and associate chair for research in obstetrics and gynecology, University of Michigan; adjunct professor of epidemiology, Harvard Chan School; and current president of the World Endometriosis Society. She is a population scientist who conducted the first life course prospective studies of endometriosis, discovering the influences of diet and body size and determining that endometriosis increases the risk of multiple conditions, including cardiovascular disease, stroke, rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, and early menopause. She designed and now leads the first long-term studies of adolescents diagnosed with endometriosis. She also leads both the second phase of the International Endometriosis Genomics Consortium (IEGC) that will discover genes unique to specific endometriosis lesion types and symptoms and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development-funded What is Endometriosis? (WisE) study that is combining patient characteristics with peripheral inflammatory and protein markers, lesion transcriptomics, and patient data to better define clinically translational subgroups to predict symptoms and treatment selection. The IEGC and WisE studies utilize the internationally standardized research tools developed by the World Endometriosis Research Foundation’s Endometriosis Phenome (and Biobanking) Harmonisation Project, which Dr. Missmer co-leads with Professor Krina Zondervan, M.Sc., DPhil. The title of Dr. Missmer’s talk is "Endometriosis – Whole Health Across Whole Lives." |
 | Ridhi Tariyal, M.B.A., S.M. Ridhi Tariyal, M.B.A., S.M., has earned her degrees from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, respectively. Ms. Tariyal is a Blavatnik Fellow, Ferolyn Fellow, and chief executive officer and co-founder of NextGen Jane. At NextGen Jane, Ms. Tariyal has driven the development of a novel menstrual data platform that characterizes uterine biology at a molecular level. In this effort, she has raised capital and developed a team to create both novel hardware and software to change how women access care. Ms. Tariyal has previously worked at the Broad Institute and Bristol Myers Squibb. The title of her presentation is "Decoding the Language of Uterine Health." |
| Time | Agenda |
| 1:00 p.m. – 1:10 p.m. | Opening Remarks
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| 1:10 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. | Introduction of Speakers
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| 1:15 p.m. – 2:05 p.m. | Panel Presentations |
Transforming Pain into Purpose: A Patient’s Perspective
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Endometriosis—Whole Health Across Whole Lives
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Navigating the Complexities of Endometriosis to Enhance Quality of Life
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Decoding the Language of Uterine Health
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| 2:05 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. | Panel Chat
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Sign language interpreting services are available upon request. Individuals who need interpreting services and/or other reasonable accommodations to participate in this event should email amy.buckley@nih.gov. Requests should be made at least five business days in advance of the event.
Watch the videocast below or view it in fullscreen here.