Grant: Doctoral Re. Award - PA: Sex, Gender and Intersectionality in Health Research

This project investigates the pathways that drive pelvic pain in patients with endometriosis. Endometriosis is a chronic condition in which tissue similar to the inner lining of the uterus grows outside of the uterus. This condition affects approximately 10% of women, girls, and people with a uterus of reproductive age. It is a common cause of infertility and severe pelvic pain, including painful menstruation and penetrative sex, with an estimated annual cost of $1.8 billion to the Canadian healthcare system. Our laboratory has found evidence that patients with endometriosis who experience pain with sex may have a higher number of nerve bundles surrounding their endometriosis lesions, potentially driven by high levels of inflammation, inherited genetic changes, and/or non-inherited gene mutations within the endometriosis lesions. We propose that these patients have a specific type of endometriosis, which we have termed "neuroproliferative endometriosis," that could be identified based on the presence of these inflammatory factors and genetic changes. My research will confirm neuroproliferative endometriosis in a new patient cohort by comparing the inflammatory biomarkers among those with painful sex. I will further investigate whether known inherited and non-inherited genetic changes are driving nerve growth, and therefore, more pain. Finally, I will create a model of neuroproliferative endometriosis by simultaneously culturing human endometriosis cells and sensory neurons to investigate their associations in real-time. Ultimately, this model will be used to test potential drug targets to treat endometriosis. My research will contribute to our understanding of how endometriosis and endometriosis-related pain develop, but also lead to new drug treatments for the neuroproliferative subtype of endometriosis.