News · May 30, 2023

15th World Congress on Endometriosis, 2023

Registration during the opening day of the congress; the excitement was palpable. Over 1100 delegates from over 50 countries attended this brilliant congress, all with a common goal of improving endometriosis care for those living with the condition.

Dr Mathew Leonardi, Assistant Professor in Obstetrics & Gynaecology from McMaster University chaired the incredibly well attended pre-congress meeting in diagnosing and staging endometriosis with ultrasound. His clear message of “Diagnosis is therapy” was present throughout the full conference.

Below, the amazing Alison Deslandes, Specialist Obstetrics and Gynaecological sonographer from the University of Adelaide, scanning our volunteer patient. A live, in-real time ultrasound scan demonstrating the importance of diagnosis of endometriosis to allow those living with the condition feel more empowered about their care.

The art exhibition offered a very thought-provoking visual representation of endometriosis, the condition affecting 1 in 10 women and those assigned female at birth (of reproductive age).

EXPPECT PhD student Katherine Edgley presenting her 2 posters at the congress. One on high adherence to using smartwatches in combination with daily self-reports in patients with endometriosis.

The other, on managing pain and fatigue in endometriosis by exploring the role of physical activity, sleep and diurnal rhythms through smartwatch data.

World Congress on Endometriosis provided a fantastic networking opportunity for the clinicians of the future. Below we see 5th year University of Edinburgh medical student Kevin Kuan who has an interest in endometriosis care and was able to have the opportunity to present 2 posters, outlining his research into improving outcomes for those living with endometriosis.

World congress was a mammoth team effort including volunteers from all backgrounds who wanted to help at such a pivotal event for those suffering from endometriosis and clinicians wishing to improve endometriosis-related care. Below we have Ann Doust, Research Portfolio Manager to Professor Andrew Horne; the excitement did not dwindle as the week progressed.

Professors Philippa Saunders, Andrew Horne and Luk Rombauts giving a true Scottish welcome to delegates attending the conference.

A group of dedicated endometriosis specialists took on the huge challenge of cycling from Endometriosis UKs headquarters in London all the way to Edinburgh to attend the World Congress on Endometriosis, raising an incredible £10,835 in the process.

Professor John Cryan from University College Cork gave an amazing keynote on the gut brain axis. “An evidence base for the role of the gut microbiome in endometriosis is poised to change the way we understand & treat it. Unlike the genome, the microbiome is modifiable”.

The audience was captivated during one of the many talks given in the main auditorium.

Specialist Research Nurse Priscilla Fernandez from University of Edinburgh presented on the important topic of the Nurse Specialist role in research highlighting the importance of multidisciplinary team working and how it benefits patients seeking new treatment options.

Dr Lucy Whitaker Clinical Lecturer in Obstetrics & Gynaecology from University of Edinburgh presented on an exploratory open label study (EPiC1) of Dichloroacetate (DCA) to treat endometriosis associated pain. EPiC2 to start recruitment during the autumn of 2023.

The main auditorium, full of delegates from different disciplines, with one common objective of helping those with endometriosis.

Stacey Missmer, Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Biology from Michigan State University during the closing ceremony, thanking Early Career World Endometriosis Society Board.

Professors, Andrew Horne, Luk Rombauts and Philippa Saunders ready to take to the dancefloor during the World Congress celebration dinner at the National Museum of Scotland

Great food, drink and company at the celebration dinner. Relationships were forged and memories made at this fantastic event.

Aerialists delighted delegates with their spectacular vertigo inducing routine.

And 5,6,7,8. The “Virginia Reel” ceilidh dance well under way. Ceilidh time at the museum.

Our very own Dr Scott Mackenzie, winner of the Rodolphe Maheux award for best abstract from an Early Career Clinician identifying a SNP associated with gabapentin response in chronic pelvic pain. He was accompanied onstage by Emma Cox from Endometriosis UK, Professor Rombauts, Dr Jacques Donnez and Professors Saunders and Horne.

Professor Lorimer Mosely from University of South Australia closed the successful congress with a fascinating keynote focusing on chronic pain, reminiscent of a TED Talk.

WCE2023 Award Winners

Endometriosis UK Prize – Best Abstract Incorporating Public/Patient Engagement
Kate Wahl, University of British Columbia

ENDOCATION: A cluster randomized controlled trial of a menstrual health and endometriosis education program for middle and secondary school students

Oral Presentations

Best oral presentation from an Early Career Clinician
Winner: Dr Connie Rees, Catharina Hospital Eindhoven

Highly Commended:
Dr Frances Bailey, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Tatjana Gibbons, University of Oxford

Best oral presentation from an Early Career Scientist
Winner: Anna Melgaard, Aarhus University

Highly Commended:
Dr Harriet Fitzgerald, Hudson Institute of Medical Research
Dr Fiona Cousins, Hudson Institute of Medical Research

Poster Presentations

Best poster presentation from an Early Career Clinician
Winner: Mohammed Elsherbini, University of Tokyo

Highly Commended:
Giorgia Elisabeth Columbo, University of Aberdeen
Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz, University of Arizona

Best poster presentation from an Early Career Scientist:
Winner: Ellen Kan, MIT

Highly Commended:
Lydia Coxon, University of Oxford
Axelle Brulport, INSERM
Anna Senior, University of Warwick

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News · May 16, 2023

Reframing Endometriosis: Power, Politics and Potential Futures


British Academy/Wellcome Trust Conferences bring together scholars and specialists from around the world to explore themes related to health and wellbeing.

Endometriosis is a common yet poorly understood condition. Media and academic discourse often highlight failures in diagnosis as emblematic of gender biases in health. This conference focuses on practices of exclusion in past and present approaches to endometriosis as well as potential inclusive futures.

It is the first academic conference to bring together UK and internationally based endometriosis social science and humanities researchers alongside, and in conversation with, prominent (bio)medical researchers, third sector representatives and independent researchers and authors.

The way endometriosis is categorised is central to how it is understood and experienced. Speakers will discuss the historical legacies of endometriosis as a ‘wandering womb’ induced ‘hysteria’ and ‘career women’s disease’. They will consider intersecting systems of power and the marginalisation of gendered, racialised, and disabled bodies. And they will explore the socio-cultural-political implications of the latest medical research suggesting endometriosis is a systemic (whole body), rather than a solely gynaecological, disease.

For Registration and more information, see the conference website: Reframing Endometriosis: Power, Politics and Potential Futures | The British Academy

Reframing Endometriosis: Power, Politics and Futures Programme available here

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Ambassador

ABBASI Sharmin

Anwer Khan Modern Medical College Hospital
Dhaka, Bangladesh

Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Anwer Khan Modern Medical College Hospital

Dr. Sharmin Abbasi is now working as Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Anwer Khan Modern Medical College Hospital. Sharmin has an active role in undergraduate and post-graduate teaching and training. Her major clinical and research interest is in endometriosis & adenomyosis risk factors, diagnosis, and recent updates of treatment – both medical management and surgical aspects.

Sharmin is the founder scientific secretary of Endometriosis Adenomyosis Society of Bangladesh. She is the coordinator of School based Endometriosis Awareness Program in Bangladesh and focal person of social media-based endometriosis awareness program “Voice of Endometriosis’’ which already completed 100 episodes and reached more than 2 million general audience. Dr Sharmin is committed to promoting improvements in the healthcare of women of different ages with chronic pelvic pain and endometriosis by pursuing clinical and research in the epidemiology, symptoms and treatment of endometriosis and other pelvic pain disorders.

Her research is focused on advancing basic and clinical knowledge about endometriosis, adenomyosis, infertility, ART, PCOS and recurrent pregnancy loss. She also has an interest in minimally invasive surgery and fertility preservation.

Dr. Abbasi is International Editor of International Journal of Human Reproduction Research and Development (IJHRRD) and has more than 20 publications including textbooks, book chapters, and research in endometriosis and adenomyosis. She was the executive editor in Dengue in Pregnancy and COVID 19 in Pregnancy management guidelines in Bangladesh. Sharmin is the reviewer of International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics (FIGO), The Asia & Oceania Federation of Obstetrics & Gynecology (AOFOG) and South Asian Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology (SAFOG) Journals. She is the advisor of the scientific committee of FIGO world congress 2023 in Paris.

Sharmin is currently involved in study of prevalence of endometriosis in Bangladesh and involved in promoting awareness of this disease and related symptoms, especially among health professionals and families within. She believes that it is of high importance to identify early symptoms of endometriosis in adolescents those have family history. Impact on mental health and quality of life are also very important issues to consider.

She has been the recipient of many awards for her research and presentations. She regularly writes in newspaper and done advocacy programs for women with endometriosis in the media. She regularly gives talks in national and international conferences on endometriosis to disseminate the updated knowledge.

Currently she also involved as secretary in SIG of International AE-PCOS Society and other societies affiliations are as joint secretary in PCOS Club of Bangladesh, scientific secretary in Fertility preservation Society of Bangladesh, publication secretary in Pediatric Adolescent gynecology Society of Bangladesh, joint secretary in Osteoporosis Task force of Bangladesh and executive member of Obstetrics and Gynecology Society of Bangladesh.

Sharmin wants to devote her academic and clinical works for the highest services of women who are suffering from endometriosis and adenomyosis.

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Ambassador

ARMOUR Mike

Western Sydney University
Sydney, Australia

Dr Mike Armour is a senior research fellow in reproductive health at Western Sydney University.

Mike completed undergraduate honours in biomedicine at the University of Auckland, and completed his PhD in primary dysmenorrhea at Western Sydney University in 2016. Mike’s research focuses on menstrual health literacy, dysmenorrhea, pelvic pain and endometriosis. He has a specific interest in non-pharmaceutical management of endometriosis symptoms, including the use of medicinal cannabis, herbal medicine and acupuncture. Mike has published over 60 peer reviewed journal articles and textbook chapters covering a wide range of methods from surveys, to qualitative and mixed methods research, to randomised controlled trials. Mike is active in supervision of higher degree research students across a range of reproductive health topics.

He is chair of the Australasian Interdisciplinary Researchers in Endometriosis (AIRE), the academic lead of the Menstrual Cycle Research Network (MCRN) at Western Sydney University, member of the Endometriosis NZ special interest group, incoming chair of the Endometriosis Australia clinical advisory board and chair of the Endometriosis Australia research committee. Mike is also involved in leading the patient reported outlines section the National Endometriosis and Clinical Trials (NECST) network in Australia, and was part of the expert working group providing expertise in complementary medicines for the recently released RANZCOG guidelines on the treatment of endometriosis.

Mike’s passion for improving menstrual health literacy to reduce delay in diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis and other forms of pelvic pain has lead to several partnership grants resulting in the development of the Menstruation Matters project, supported by Western Sydney University (https://menstruationmatters.com.au) an evidence based resource to help improve health literacy, screen for potentially problematic symptoms, and provide evidence based self-care for dysmenorrhea and other menstrual symptoms. Mike is currently the lead investigator on two national, and one international clinical trial.

Dr. Mike Armour was appointed a WES Ambassador in January 2022.

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Ambassador

CONDOUS George

University of Sydney
Sydney, Australia

Associate Professor of Gynaecology at Sydney Medical School Nepean, University of Sydney, Australia.Head of Discipline of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Sydney Medical School Nepean, University of Sydney, Australia

George Condous MBBS (Adel), FRANZCOG, FRCOG, MD (Lon) is a gynaecological surgeon sonologist in the field of endometriosis. He is an associate professor of Gynaecology at Sydney Medical School Nepean, University of Sydney, with special interests in gynaecological ultrasound imaging (EFSUMB level 3 equivalent) and minimally invasive gynaecological surgery (MIGS). He is also head of discipline of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Sydney Medical School Nepean, University of Sydney.

He is immediate past president of the Australasian Society of Ultrasound in Medicine (ASUM), vice president of the World Federation of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (WFUMB) and on the scientific committee for the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology (ISUOG). He was the co-chair for the ISUOG World Congresses in Sydney 2013 and Singapore 2017 as well as the chair for the WFUMB World Congress in Melbourne 2019.

A/Prof Condous performs AGES Level 6 advanced endosurgery for pelvic masses, adnexal pathology, severe endometriosis, and/or hysterectomy with VMO appointments at the SAN Hospital. He set up, with Dr Walid Barto (colorectal surgeon), the first public hospital endometriosis multi-disciplinary team (MDT) in Australia at Nepean Hospital. He and Dr Barto perform joint laparoscopic surgery for women with stage IV intestinal endometriosis at the SAN. He is also a member of the North Shore Multi-Disciplinary Endometriosis Research and Clinical (MERC) Care Team. He also runs RANZCOG accredited ‘Hands on’ Laparoscopic Workshops for Gynaecologists at the Kolling Institute RNSH.

He has edited four books including the Handbook of Early Pregnancy Care and How to perform ultrasonography in Endometriosis, published over 200 papers in international journals, and is internationally renowned for his work in early pregnancy and endometriosis. He is the editor-in-chief for the Australasian Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine (AJUM). His current research interests relate to the management of ectopic pregnancy, PULs and miscarriage prediction, as well as the use of transvaginal ultrasound, and in particular ‘deep endometriosis ultrasound’, to predict the extent of endometriosis.

Dr Condous’ research in non-invasive imaging diagnosis of endometriosis is internationally recognised. The International Deep Endometriosis Analysis (IDEA) consensus statement (which he co-led) for classifying endometriosis on ultrasound has been adopted internationally throughout Europe, Australasia, Canada, South America, North Africa and, more recently, in China. He is the joint lead investigator for the IDEA multi-centre prospective study which includes collaborating units from Belgium, Australia, Italy, Sweden, Czech Republic, Germany, Israel, Switzerland, Hungary, Austria, and Spain. The IDEA study will be the largest international pre-operative imaging study on endometriosis. The ASUM’s Diploma of Diagnostic Gynaecological Ultrasound curriculum now includes the IDEA terms and definitions nationally for endometriosis ultrasound recognition. He has introduced ‘deep endometriosis’ imaging technology to Sydney, Canberra, Perth, and Melbourne, as well as Vancouver, Ottawa, and Toronto in Canada through training fellowships, educational courses, and live scanning demonstrations.

George Condous was appointed a WES Ambassador in May 2020.

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Ambassador

TOPBAS SELCUKI Nura Fitnat

University of Health Sciences Turkey and University of Oxford
Istanbul and Oxford, UK

Doctor of Philosophy Candidate, Nuffield Department of Women’s & Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, United Kingdom. MD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Health Sciences Turkey, Sisli Hamidiye Etfal Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey

Nura Fitnat Topbas Selcuki is a DPhil candidate in the EndoCaRe Group at Women’s and Reproductive Health at the University of Oxford. Fitnat’s research focuses on the genetic basis of adenomyosis compared to endometriosis. She will be performing genome-wide association studies to evaluate disease-associated variants. She also aims to expand the ancestral diversity of existing study populations by including two studies from the Eastern Mediterranean region, Cyprus Women’s Health Research (COHERE) Initiative and Turkey Oxford Endometriosis and Adenomyosis Study (TROX), in her analyses.

Fitnat is also an attending physician at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Health Sciences Turkey based in Istanbul. She focuses on benign gynaecological diseases and has a special interest in endometriosis.  She is also an active member of the Turkish Endometriosis and Adenomyosis Society.

She was selected as a World Endometriosis Society Early Career Ambassador in 2019 and an Early Career Board member in 2023.

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Early Career Ambassador

GOKSEVER CELIK Hale

Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University
Istanbul, Turkey

Associate Professor, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Acibadem Fulya Hospital, IVF and Endometriosis Center, Istanbul, Turkey. Postdoctoral research fellowship, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey  

Hale Goksever Celik is an obstetrician and gynecologist, graduated from the medical school of the Hacettepe University in 2005, and trained through Obstetrics and Gynecology fellowship at Dokuz Eylul University in 2010. She has been a postdoctoral research fellow at Molecular Biology and Genetics in Istanbul University.

Gynecological endoscopy, especially endometriosis surgery and reproductive health are included in her clinical interests. She has been participating on several researches and abstracts in national or international scientific congresses and book chapters. Her research projects are focused on the endometriosis surgery, genetic factors of endometriosis and fertility outcomes of the patients with endometriosis. She is the author/co-author of more than forty-five scientific articles published in the most important gynaecological journals, such as Fertility and Sterility.

She was selected as a World Endometriosis Society Early Career Ambassador in 2019.

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Ambassador

OSUGA Yutaka

University of Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan

Professor, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan. Vice President, University of Tokyo Hospital, Japan. President, Japan Society of Gynecologic and Obstetric Endoscopy and Minimally Invasive Therapy. Vice President, Japan Society for Reproductive Medicine. Vice President, Japan Society of Fertilization and Implantation

Professor Osuga received his MD in 1985 and PhD in 1995 from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Tokyo, Japan. He completed his OB/GYN residency training at the University of Tokyo and subsequently trained as a postdoctoral fellow in the field of ovarian physiology in Stanford University from 1995 to 1997.

Professor Osuga provides clinical services in gynaecology and reproductive medicine with a special expertise in laparoscopic surgery and assisted reproductive technology.  His main research targets cover a wide variety of physiology and pathology of reproduction including endometriosis, implantation, folliculogenesis, and reproductive aging. He has authored more than 300 research papers published in eminent peer-reviewed international journals and has written and edited many textbooks.

He serves as an executive board member of several medical groups and associations and as an editor of several international journals. He is frequently sought out to provide his expertise at international medical conferences and academic institutions.

Yutaka Osuga was appointed a WES Ambassador in August 2019.

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Early Career Ambassador

McALLISTER Stacy

Emory School of Medicine
Atlanta, USA

Assistant Professor, Emory School of Medicine Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, USA

Stacy McAllister earned her PhD in Neuroscience under the mentorship of Dr Karen Berkley at Florida State University. During her graduate career, her primary research focus was investigating peripheral contributors to endometriosis-associated vaginal hyperalgesia (~dyspareunia) in a rat model of endometriosis.

As an instructor at Stanford University, she received a prestigious NIH (NICHD) K99 Award. Her research targets reactive aldehyde detoxification as a treatment strategy and diagnostic biomarker for endometriosis. Some of her additional research interests and projects include the involvement of the endocannabinoid system in endometriosis and its associated pain.

She was selected as a World Endometriosis Society Early Career Ambassador in 2018 and an Early Career Board member in 2023.

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Ambassador

OPPELT Peter

Kepler University
Linz, Austria

Professor and Chair of the Department of Gynaecology, Obstetrics, and Gynaecological Endocrinology, Kepler University, Linz, Austria

Professor Oppelt studied at the University of Regensburg and Munich in Germany. After his exams he started as a resident at the Goethe University Hospital in Frankfurt, Germany. After 5 years he moved to the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen, Germany, as a fellow.

His main interests are the operative therapy and the classification system for endometriosis. In addition to his focus on the relationship between endometriosis and fertility, he is currently particularly interested in the methods of birth after deep endometriosis.

Professor Oppelt is a member of the board of the German Endometriosis Research Foundation (SEF), the German Society of Gynaecological Endoscopy, and the Austrian Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics.

He was the president of the 10th Endometriosis Congress of the German speaking countries in Linz, Austria (2013) and was also in charge of the 4th European Congress of Endometriosis in Vienna, Austria (2018).

Due to his experience in the field, he has been a co-author of the German guidelines for endometriosis for many years.

Peter Oppelt was appointed a WES Ambassador in March 2019.

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