About the Endometriosis Association
Who We Are
The Endometriosis Association is a self-help organization of women and families with endo, doctors, scientists, and others interested in exchanging information about the endometriosis disease. The Association is an international organization with headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (USA), with members in numerous countries, and activities worldwide.
Why We Exist (Our Mission)
The ultimate goal of the Endometriosis Association is to find a cure and prevention for endometriosis while at the same time providing education, support, and research to those affected.
The Future We’re Striving For (Our Vision)
It is our vision that, worldwide every girl, woman, and family affected by endometriosis and its related diseases will…
- have support, knowledge, and help in securing accurate, early diagnosis and effective treatment for this chronic, painful, and complex disease
- be empowered to advocate for their own physical and emotional health, and to help others affected by endometriosis to do so
- help change the environmental and other contributing factors linked to endometriosis to diminish the occurrence and severity of endometriosis and related diseases
We believe in the future where…
- our members, the medical community, and the public will understand that pain with female reproductive function is not normal and that endometriosis is a systemic disease with associated immune, endocrine, and other aspects
- our research will contribute to finding causes, treatments, prevention, and a cure for endometriosis and related health problems
Our Endometriosis Association Community
Our Founding Story
The Endometriosis Association was the first organization in the world created for those with endometriosis. As an independent self-help organization of women with endometriosis, doctors, and others interested in the disease, it is a recognized authority in its field whose goal is to work toward finding a cure for the disease as well as providing education, support, and research.
Founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1980 by Mary Lou Ballweg and Carolyn Keith, it is now a worldwide, independent organization. It has grown to such an extent that it now has a network in 66 countries throughout the world. Information from the Endometriosis Association is available in 30+ different languages.
Since its creation, the Endometriosis Association has achieved many goals, one being the undertaking of massive educational projects involving mailings to every gynecologist, hospital, and college health service in the US and Canada. It has also published three books: Overcoming Endometriosis, The Endometriosis Sourcebook, and our most recent book, Endometriosis: The Complete Reference for Taking Charge of Your Health. A wide range of literature, fact sheets, and DVDs can also be obtained through the Endometriosis Association store.
Operating as a non-profit organization, the Association aims to establish funds to enable more research into the causes of endometriosis. As part of its research program, the Association has funded and assisted a number of researchers in various parts of the world. It also maintains a large data research registry and continues work on the relationship between dioxin and endometriosis, a relationship the Association discovered.
The Association teamed up with the prestigious Vanderbilt University School of Medicine to create a dedicated research facility to address the mechanisms responsible for causing endometriosis. Among other research projects supported by the Association have been a study of the dioxin-exposed young women in Seveso, Italy; publicity and help obtaining patients and families for a genetic study at Oxford University, England; support for research on a non-invasive diagnostic technique by a U.S. researcher; and small grants and tissue samples for a number of researchers studying dioxin and related toxins and endometriosis.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Mary Lou Ballweg, President
Karen Luba, Vice President of Support
Linda Bellgraph, Vice President of Education
Genika Reed, Director of Special Projects-Women of Color Outreach
Rachel Blaisdell, Director of Special Projects-Family Awareness
Sarah Whyte, Treasurer
Tawnya Foster, Recording Secretary
Advisors
The Endometriosis Association Advisors are selected for their expertise on specific scientific and/or clinical aspects of endometriosis. They advise the Association on important matters related to endometriosis, review research proposals the Association might fund, provide a sounding board for Association board and staff, help promote the Association’s mission and assist in numerous ways.
(Note to those with endometriosis: simply because a physician is an Advisor does not mean he/she is the right healthcare provider for you. For help finding an endometriosis specialist who matches your needs, please contact the Endometriosis Association, and see the Association’s books. The Endometriosis Sourcebook, for example, has an extensive section on endometriosis surgery and choosing a good endometriosis surgeon.)
Leila Adamyan, M.D.
Dept. of Operative Gynecology
Scientific Center.
Moscow, Russia
Arnold Advincula, M.D.
Chief of Gynecology, Sloane Hosp. for Women
Columbia Univ. Medical Center.
New York, New York
Erkut Attar, M.D., Ph.D.
Prof., Div. of Reprod. Endocrinology & Infertility, Dept. of Ob/Gyn
Istanbul Univ., Istanbul Medical School
Istanbul, Turkey
Breton Barrier, M.D.
Dept. of Ob/Gyn & Women’s Health
Univ. of Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
Linda S. Birnbaum, Ph.D.
Director, Retired
National Inst. of Environmental Health Sci.
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
Andrew I. Brill, M.D.
Center for Advanced Surgical Options in Gynecology
Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation
San Francisco, California
Serdar E. Bulun, M.D.
Chief, Div. Reprod. Biology Research
Northwestern Univ.
Chicago, Illinois
Michel Canis, M.D.
Polycliniques Hôtel Dieu
Clermont, France
Stella M. Căpek, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
Sociology/Anthropology
Conway, Arkansas
Charles Chapron, M.D.
Prof. of Ob/Gyn, Univ. René Descartes
Head, Dept. Ob & Gyn & Reprod. Med.
Cochin University Hospital
Paris, France
Hilary Critchley, M.D.
Prof. of Reprod. Med.
Univ. of Edinburgh
Edinburgh, Scotland
Thomas D’Hooghe, M.D., Ph.D.
Dept. of Ob/Gyn
Leuven Univ. Fertility Center
Univ. Hosp. Gasthuisberg
Leuvin, Belguim
W. Paul Dmowski, M.D., Ph.D.
Inst. for the Study & Treatment of Endo
Oak Brook, Illinois
John F. Dulemba, M.D.
The Women’s Centre
Denton, Texas
Asgi T. Fazleabas, Ph.D.
Research Chair & Director of Women’s Health Research
Michigan State Univ.
East Lansing, Michigan
Idhaliz Flores-Caldera, Ph.D.
Prof., Dept. of Basic Sci., Microbiology, Dept. of Clin. Sci., Ob/Gyn, Ponce Health Sci. Univ. – School of Med. & Ponce Research Inst.
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Warren Lauren Foster, Ph.D.
Prof. Emeritus, Dept. of Ob/Gyn
McMaster Univ.
Hamilton, Canada
Linda C. Giudice, M.D., Ph.D.
Prof. & Chair Emeritus, Ob/Gyn & Reprod. Sci.
Univ. of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, California
Leon Earl Gray Jr., Ph.D.
Environmental Protection Agency
Sr. Reproductive Biologist
National Health & Environmental Effects Research Laboratory
Research Triangle Park, NC
Linda G. Griffith, Ph.D.
Director, Center. for Gynepathology Research
Massachusetts Inst. of Technology
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Mark D. Hornstein, M.D.
Dir. Reprod/Endocrinology Div
Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts
Mary Louise Hull, M.D., Ph.D.
Assoc. Prof., Group Leader, Endo Research Group
Robinson Research Inst.,
Research Centre for Reprod. Health
The University of Adelaide, Australia
Darin Joseph Ingels, N.D.
Preventative Med & Naturopathy
Wellness Integrative Naturopathic Center
Irvine, CA
Keith Isaacson, M.D.
Assoc. Prof., Ob, Gyn & Reprod. Endocrine & Infertility
Harvard Medical School
Admin. Dir., MIS & Infertility, Newton-Wellesley Hosp.
Boston, Massachusetts
Russell Jaffe, M.D., Ph.D., C.C.N.
ELISA/ACT Biotechnologies, Inc.
Ashburn, Virginia
Grace M. Janik, M.D.
Assoc. Program Dir., Med. College of WI
Ob/Gyn Residency Program
Reprod. Specialty Center.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
D. Alan Johns, M.D.
Ft. Worth Ctr for Pelvic Med.
Ft. Worth, Texas
Wayne Konetzki, M.D.
Retired
Allergy & Immunologist
Waukesha, Wisconsin
Philippe R. Koninckx, M.D., Ph.D.
Prof. & Head of Endoscopic Surgery Div.
Univ. Hosp. Gasthuisberg
Leuven, Belgium
Marc Laufer, M.D.
Chief, Pediatric & Adolescent Gynecology Children’s Hosp.
Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts
Dan I. Lebovic, M.D.
Fertility & Reprod Med Center. Ob/Gyn
St. Louis, MO
Bruce A. Lessey, M.D., Ph.D.
Wake Forest School of Medicine
Center. for Fertility, Endocrine & Infertility
Winston-Salem, NC
Anthony A Luciano, M.D.
Retired
Center for Fertility and Reproductive Endocrinology
Southington, CT
Rakesh K. Mangal, M.D.
Fertility & Endometriosis Institute
Houston, Texas
Michele Marcus, Ph.D.
Dept. of Epidemiology
Rollins School of Public Health
Emory Univ.
Atlanta, Georgia
Dan C. Martin, M.D.
Prof. Emeritus, College of Med.
Univ. of Tennessee Health Science Center.
Memphis, Tennessee
(Retired to Richmond, Virginia)
Liselotte Mettler M.D.
Prof. Dept. of Ob/Gyn Univ Schleswig Holstein
Kiel, Germany
Charles E. Miller, M.D.
Reprod Endocrinology & Infertility
Edward Hospital
Park Ridge, Illinois
Dian Mills, Cert. Ed. B.A. Dip. ION M.A.
Clinical Nutritionist
London, England
Camran R. Nezhat, M.D.
Center for Special MIS surgery
Stanford Univ. Medical School
Palo Alto, California
Ceana Nezhat, M.D.
Atlanta Center for MIS & Reprod Medicine.
Director, Nezhat Medical Center
Atlanta, Georgia
Farr R. Nezhat, M.D.
Director, MIS, and Gyn. Robotics
Clinical Professor. Ob/Gyn
Weill Cornell Med. Ctr.
New York Presbyterian Hosp
New York, New York
Daoshing Ni, L.Ac., Ph.D., D.O.M., Dipl. C.H.
TAO of Wellness
Santa Monica, California
Judy Norsigian
Former Executive Director
Our Bodies, Ourselves
Boston, Massachusetts
Iris Kerin Orbuch, M.D.
Dir., Advanced Gyn. Laparoscopy Center.
Los Angeles. CA
Kevin G. Osteen, Ph.D.
Prof., Ob/Gyn & Pathology
Dir., Endo Association Research Program at Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt Univ. School of Med.
Nashville, Tennessee
Luis Carlos Paez, M.D.
Private Practice
San Pedro, Mexico
William H. Parker, M.D.
Clinical Prof. UC San Diego
Private Practice
La Jolla, California
Mark Perloe, M.D.
Retired
Reprod. Endocrinology & Infertility
Los Angeles, CA
Felice Petraglia, M.D.
Prof. of Ob/Gyn
Chair of the Dept. of Pediatrics
Univ. of Siena
Siena, Italy
David B. Redwine, M.D.
Retired, Medical Director Endometriosis
Treatment Program
Chandler, AZ
Peter A.W. Rogers, Ph.D.
Professional Fellow
Women’s Health Research
Univ. of Melbourne Dept. Ob/Gyn and
Royal Women’s Hospital
Parkville, Victoria, Australia
Monique Micheline Regard, M.D.
Children’s Physicians of Westchester
Hawthorne, New York
Robert S. Schenken, M.D.
Fertility Center Ob/Gyn
Reproductive. Endocrinology & Infertility
Univ. of Texas Health Science Center
San Antonio, Texas
William D. Schlaff, M.D.
Retired
Chairman and Prof
Sidney Kimmel Medical College
Thomas Jefferson University
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
James Segars, M.D.
Director of Reprod. Science & Women’s Health Research
Dept. of Gynecology & Obstetrics
Johns Hopkins Univ.
Baltimore, Maryland
James A. Simon, M.D.
Clin. Prof., Div. of Reprod. Endocrinology & Infertility
Dept. of Ob/Gyn
George Washington Univ. School of Med.
Washington, District of Columbia
David Soriano, M.D.
Director of Endo Center.
Dept. of Ob/Gyn, Sheba Medical Center. & Tel-Aviv
Univ.Saklar Medical School
Tel-Aviv, Israel
Hugh S. Taylor, M.D.
Div. of Reprod. Endo & Infertility
Dept. of Ob, Gyn, & Reprod. Sci.
Yale Univ. School of Med.
New Haven, Connecticut
Robert N. Taylor, M.D., Ph.D.
Prof. Dept. Ob/Gyn
Asst. Dean for Student and Academic Affairs
University at Buffalo Medical School
Buffalo, NY
Kathy Lynn Sharpe-Timms, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
Dept. of Ob, Gyn, & Women’s Health
Univ. of Missouri – Columbia
Columbia, Missouri
Glenn A. Toth, M.D.
Private Practice
Waukesha, Wisconsin
Togas Tulandi, M.D.
Chief, Dept of Ob/Gyn
Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility
McGill Univ. Health Center
Royal Victoria Hospital
Montreal, Quebec
Paolo Vercellini, M.D.
Center for Study & Treatment of Endo
Dept. of Ob/Gyn “L. Mangiagalli”
Univ. of Milan School of Med.
Milan, Italy
Michael W. Vernon, Ph.D.
Prof. Emeritus
West Virginia Univ.
Morgantown, West Virginia
Aristo Vojdani, Ph.D., M.Sc., M.T.
Founder, CEO & Vice President of Research
& Development
Immunosciences Lab, Inc.
Beverly Hills, California
Frederick Vom Saal, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
CEO, XenoAnalytical LLC
Columbia, Missouri
Leonard Weather Jr., R.Ph., M.D
Director, Omni Fertility & Laser Institute
Shreveport, Louisiana
Lip Kee Yap, M.D.
MIS Prof.
Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre
Singapore
Emeritus
David Adamson, M.D.
Marla Ahlgrimm, .Ph.D.
Ali Akoum, Ph.D.
Ronald E. Batt, M.D, Ph.D.
Agneta Bergqvist, M.D., Ph.D.
Karen J. Berkley, Ph.D.
Donald P. Braun, Ph.D.
Lyle Breitkopf, M.D.
Louise Annette Brinton, Ph.D.
Ming-Yang Chang, M.D.
Donald L. Chatman, M.D.
K. K. Chu, M.D.
Michael Diamond, M.D.
Prof. Jacques Donnez, M.D.
Hans Evers, M.D.
Eduardo Alberto Gonzalez Fabbrizzi, M.D.
Robert R. Franklin, M.D
Ian Stewart Fraser, M.D.
Stanley R. Glasser, Ph.D.
Fred Howard, M.D.
W.F. (Dub) Howard, M.D.
Bob Hunt, M.D.
John Jarrell, M.D.
Felipe Jofré, M.D.
Stephen Kennedy, M.A., M.D.
Robert Kistner, M.D.
Charles Koh, M.D.
Arnold Kresch, M.D.
Arthur Leader, M.D.
André Lemay, M.D., Ph.D.
Kay Lie, M.D.
Thomas L. Lyons, M.D.
Subbi Mathur, Ph.D.
Deborah Metzger, M.D., Ph.D.
Akira Miyake, M.D., Ph.D.
Mette Haase Moen, M.D., Ph.D.
Roberta Ness, M.D., M.P.H.
David L Olive, M.D.
Carlos Alberto Petta, M.D., Ph.D.
William J. Rea, M.D.
Osamu Tsutsumi, M.D., Ph.D.
Ian Tummon, M.D.
Johan van der Wat, M.D.
Robert A. Wild, M.D.
Nancy Worcester, Ph.D.
Albert Yuzpe, M.D.