Outsmarting endometriosis: How breakthrough research is leading the way

Diagnosing a disease usually requires a test or blood sample. But for women with endometriosis, diagnosis requires an invasive surgery. For April Summerford, a 36-year-old from Fresno California, that surgery actually worsened her disease. Wanting to do her part, she joined the ROSE study, which stands for Research OutSmarts Endometriosis. Led by Christine Metz, PhD, and Peter Gregersen, MD, the ROSE research team has spent the last seven years trying to find better treatments and less invasive ways to detect endometriosis.   Dr. Metz and Dr. Gregersen join April to discuss her decade-long battle, the ROSE study's innovative approaches to studying endometriosis, the medical gaslighting patients often face, and the problem of gender bias in research funding.   Podcast transcript   Watch episodes of this health podcast on YouTube.    Meet our guests Dr. Christine Metz is co-director of the study and a professor in the Institute of Molecular Medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. Dr. Peter Gregersen is also co-director of the ROSE study, and director of the Feinstein’s Robert S. Boas Center for Genomics and Human Genetics. April Summerford, is an endometriosis patient and ROSE study participant, who also runs the popular support group, Beyond Endo; AND hosts the FemFuture podcast, which covers women’s health.