Endometriosis Foundation of America

EndoFound
Endometriosis Foundation of America, Inc.
AbbreviationEndoFound, EFA
Formation2009 (2009)
FounderTamer Seckin[1] and Padma Lakshmi.[2]
Founded atNew York, NY
Type501(c)(3)
Registration no.(EIN) 20-4904437
HeadquartersNew York, NY
President
Tamer Seckin
Websitewww.endofound.org

The Endometriosis Foundation of America (EndoFound) is a U.S.–based nonprofit organization founded in 2009 by surgeon Tamer Seckin and author Padma Lakshmi to promote early diagnosis, raise public awareness, and improve clinical standards for individuals with endometriosis.[3]The foundation supports research funding, professional education, patient advocacy, and nationwide outreach events. Its work emphasizes endometriosis as a chronic inflammatory condition with significant reproductive, psychological, and economic impacts.[4]EndoFound also engages in public policy initiatives, including legislative advocacy and the global Endometriosis March, to address widespread diagnostic delays and stigma surrounding menstrual pain.[5]

History and activities

The Endometriosis Foundation of America was founded in 2009 by Tamer Seckin and Padma Lakshmi.[6][7] The Foundation promotes patient advocacy, education for the medical community and the public, awareness of endometriosis, surgical training, and research.[8][9] It sponsors yearly conferences for patients, their friends, and physicians on advancing the science and surgery of endometriosis.[10] Its New York City high school, public awareness programs educate school nurses, students, and teachers about endometriosis.[6]

EndoFound sponsors an annual scientific and surgical symposium for patients, scientists, and physicians and the Blossom Ball.[7][11] Videos[12] from the scientific and surgical symposium as well as publications[13] are online. The Blossom Ball includes women who had endometriosis such as Susan Sarandon, Padma Lakshmi,[7] Whoopi Goldberg, Halsey, and Lena Dunham.[14]

The annual Harry Reich Awards are presented at the Blossom Ball and go to physicians and scientists for medical practice, research, and patient advocacy. The award is named for Harry Reich, a gynecologic laparoscopist, who performed many firsts in surgery.[15]

Programs and research

EndoFound operates several educational programs that aim to improve public and clinical understanding of endometriosis. Its ENPOWR (Endometriosis: Promoting Outreach and Wide Recognition) Project delivers school-based menstrual health education to promote earlier identification of symptoms.[5]The foundation also organizes annual medical conferences featuring updated research on epidemiology, hormonal and immunological mechanisms, and minimally invasive surgical approaches.

Although EndoFound does not conduct primary laboratory research, it funds external studies related to the biological and molecular mechanisms underlying endometriosis. Contemporary medical literature describes the condition as a complex interplay of inflammation, immune dysfunction, neuroangiogenesis, and fibrotic progression.[16]Additional research supported by the organization emphasizes the heterogeneity of lesions and the ongoing challenge of developing accurate non-invasive diagnostic tools.[17]

Public health and education impact

Endometriosis is recognized in current medical scholarship as a significant public health concern, affecting an estimated 5–10% of reproductive-aged individuals worldwide, with an average diagnostic delay of seven to ten years.[5]EndoFound addresses diagnostic and awareness gaps through public campaigns, school-based education, and partnerships with medical institutions to improve provider training.[3]

The organization’s initiatives emphasize symptom normalization, stigma, and the socioeconomic consequences of untreated disease, including reduced quality of life, absenteeism, and barriers to continuous care.[4] Its national awareness efforts contribute to broader public health strategies aimed at increasing menstrual health literacy, expanding access to specialists, and encouraging research investment in gynecologic conditions that have historically been underfunded.[18]

Criticism and challenges

Scholarly discussions of endometriosis advocacy have identified several challenges related to public education and nonprofit engagement. Critics note that awareness campaigns, including those supported by EndoFound, may oversimplify complex medical information or rely heavily on surgical narratives, which do not reflect the experiences of all patients.[19] Broader issues in the field include structural disparities in access to specialized care, inconsistent treatment outcomes, and the absence of reliable non-invasive diagnostic biomarkers.[20]

These challenges are not unique to EndoFound but appear in analyses of how nonprofits influence public understanding of women’s health conditions and medical research priorities.[5]

References

  1. ^ "Tamer Seckin, MD". endofound.org. July 17, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  2. ^ "About Padma Lakshmi – EndoFound Co-Founder". endofound.org. July 17, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Endometriosis". Yale Medicine. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  4. ^ a b "endometriosis - Books - NCBI". www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d "Frontiers in Global Women's Health". Frontiers. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  6. ^ a b Schoolfield, Tiffany (2014). "Padma Lakshmi Shares Her Story and Her Fight With Endometriosis". ConsciousMagazine.com. Conscious Magazine. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c Cohen Blatter, Lucy (March 16, 2012). "A Foodie Raises Awareness". WSJ.com. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  8. ^ "Meet Women's Health Pioneer Tamer Seckin, MD, FACOG, ACGE of Endometriosis Foundation of America". redOrbit.com. February 23, 2011. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  9. ^ Peteroy, Lauren (March 5, 2020). "Endometriosis Foundation of America To Honor Michael J. Dowling and Dr. Lisa Sanders at 11th Annual Blossom Ball". businesswire.com. Business Wire. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  10. ^ "The 2016 EFA Annual Medical Conference and Blossom Ball". innovativegyn.com. The Center for Innovative GYN Care. April 7, 2016. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  11. ^ "The Fifth Annual Blossom Ball To Benefit The Endometriosis Foundation Of America In NYC". TurkishJournal.com. Turkish Journal. March 13, 2013. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  12. ^ "Video Gallery". endofound.org. March 22, 2019. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  13. ^ "Sitemap". endofound.org. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  14. ^ Priscilla Blossom (March 26, 2020). "13 Celebrities Who Have Opened Up About Endometriosis". glamour.com. Glamour. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  15. ^ "First Harry Reich Award presented at EFA's Blossom Ball". endometriosis.org. 2014. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  16. ^ Zondervan, Krina T.; Becker, Christian M.; Koga, Kaori; Missmer, Stacey A.; Taylor, Robert N.; Viganò, Paola (July 19, 2018). "Endometriosis". Nature Reviews Disease Primers. 4 (1): 9. doi:10.1038/s41572-018-0008-5. ISSN 2056-676X.
  17. ^ "Endometriosis: Defining It, Recognizing It, and Treating It". Endometriosis : Causes - Symptoms - Diagnosis - and Treatment. August 18, 2025. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  18. ^ Jeschke, Marc G.; van Baar, Margriet E.; Choudhry, Mashkoor A.; Chung, Kevin K.; Gibran, Nicole S.; Logsetty, Sarvesh (February 13, 2020). "Burn injury". Nature Reviews Disease Primers. 6 (1): 11. doi:10.1038/s41572-020-0145-5. ISSN 2056-676X. PMC 7224101. PMID 32054846.
  19. ^ Zondervan, Krina T.; Becker, Christian M.; Koga, Kaori; Missmer, Stacey A.; Taylor, Robert N.; Viganò, Paola (July 19, 2018). "Endometriosis". Nature Reviews Disease Primers. 4 (1): 9. doi:10.1038/s41572-018-0008-5. ISSN 2056-676X.
  20. ^ Mary, Garvey (January 2024). "Endometriosis: Future Biological Perspectives for Diagnosis and Treatment". International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 25 (22). doi:10.3390/ijm (inactive November 15, 2025). ISSN 1422-0067. Archived from the original on June 20, 2025.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2025 (link)

Further reading

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