Early Career Board Member

Naoko Sasamoto

Early Career Board Chair
Boston, USA

Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Naoko Sasamoto, MD MPH PhD, is a gynecologist and epidemiologist with research focus on improving clinical outcomes of endometriosis and ovarian cancer by integrating biomarker data and clinical data. Dr. Sasamoto’s current research lies in a unique niche in the intersection of adolescent endometriosis and pain, utilizing -omics data to further understand the underlying biology and discover clinically applicable biomarkers ultimately tailoring personalized treatment. Her contribution to the scientific literature has improved understanding of the risk factors and pain phenotypes of endometriosis diagnosed in adolescence.

She was selected as a World Endometriosis Society Early Career Ambassador in 2023

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Early Career Board Member

Leslie Farland

WES/WERF Research Priorities Group
Arizona, USA

Leslie V. Farland, ScD, is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona.

She has training in biology (AB; University of Chicago) and reproductive epidemiology (MSc, ScD; Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health).

Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Arizona, she was an Instructor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Harvard Medical School and served as the Director of Epidemiologic Research at the Center for Infertility and Reproductive Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Her research program focuses broadly on gynecologic and reproductive health and can be categorized into four major themes: i) endometriosis and risk of comorbid chronic diseases, ii) etiology and risk factors for endometriosis, infertility, and polycystic ovary syndrome, iii) environmental and occupational risk factors for reproductive health, iv) disparities in access to reproductive health care.

She has published over 100 scientific articles on women’s health, with over 40 focused on endometriosis.

Email: lfarland@email.arizona.edu

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Early Career Board Member

Dimitrios Rafail Kalaitzopoulos

Cantonal Hospital of Schaffhausen
Switzerland

Dimitrios Rafail Kalaitzopoulos is a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN). After completing his residency in Switzerland and obtaining his PhD at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece), he is currently working as a clinical fellow at Brussels IVF. His research has focused on reproductive surgery and infertility associated with endometriosis and adenomyosis.

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Early Career Board Member

Adriana Invitti

Federal University of São Paulo
São Paulo, Brazil

Senior Researcher in Cell Technology in Gyneacology, Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain Unit, Gynaecology Department, Federal University of São Paulo – UNIFESP, São Paulo, BR.

Adriana Invitti graduated in Biology at the Federal University of Paraná (2003) and obtained her MsC in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the same University. She then moved to São to work with Cell Therapy at the industry. In 2011, she decided to re-join academia and obtained her PhD in Sciences (Gyneacology) at the Federal University of São Paulo (2016). She has been working with Endometriosis at the UNIFESP Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain unit led by Prof Eduardo Schor since then. She has developed a three-dimensional in vitro model to study peritoneal early initiation of endometriosis. This model was improved after two Visiting Research Fellowships at the renowned EndoCaRe Centre at the University of Oxford, where she collaborated with Prof Krina Zondervan and Prof Christian Becker.

She coordinates the Endometriosis Molecular and Cellular Laboratory at UNIFESP and collaborates with the clinical trials undergoing in the Unit. Her research focuses on understanding the ethiopatogenesis of endometriosis. Her current research interests include the elucidation of the mesenchymal to epithelial transition mechanisms on endometriosis applying her in vitro model and integrating this with information from a first genome-wide association study for Brazilian population in collaboration with Prof Omero Poli Neto from the Ribeirão Preto Medical School, State University of São Paulo (FMRP-USP). She has been advocating for the necessity of standardization of in vitro cell models for endometriosis research. She is member of the ENDOCELL Expert Panel (SEUD) and also acts as a reviewer and editor of endometriosis publications.

She was selected as a World Endometriosis Society Early Career Ambassador in 2024.

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Early Career Board Member

Mira Mousa

BSc, MSc, PhD
Mentoring Lead
Abu Dhabi, UAE

Assistant Professor in Public Health and Epidemiology, Khalifa University

Mira is a genetic epidemiologist specializing in women’s health, diabetes, cancer, and translational medicine. Mira is leading the ‘MAR’A Project: Middle Eastern Women Research Association,’ an epidemiological study on women’s health conditions in the Middle East that aims to develop a better understanding of cultural and regional gynecological health patterns.

Mira serves as Deputy Program Manager of the Biomedical Science Discovery (BISDI) Program, and a member in the Emirati Genome Program, contributing to national efforts to enhance genomic research and precision medicine in the UAE.

Her research spans multi-omics approaches, genetic risk profiling, and genotype-phenotype mechanisms with a strong focus on reproductive health conditions such as endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Email: mira.imousa@ku.ac.ae

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Early Career Board Member

Tatjana Gibbons

Oxford University
Oxford, United Kingdom

Clinician and DPhil student at the Nuffield Department of Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, United Kingdom.

Tatjana Gibbons holds an MBBS (2019) and BSc in Reproductive medicine (2017) both from Imperial College London. In 2021, she embarked on a DPhil programme with the renowned Endometriosis CaRe Centre at the University of Oxford, where she is leading a clinical study investigating novel non-invasive imaging tests for endometriosis.

As a Cochrane author, Dr Gibbons has contributed to several reproductive medicine publications. Currently she is the co-first author of the first-ever network meta-analysis comparing and ranking all available treatments for endometriosis. This research aims to facilitate evidence-based clinical decision-making and guidelines in the field. Moreover, currently she is collaborating with the International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ICMART) on the first scoping review to assess global endometriosis policy, delivery systems and rights.

She was selected as a World Endometriosis Society Early Career Ambassador in 2023.

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