Featured video: Changing the conversation about endometriosis.
MIT News featured the documentary 'End of the Cycle,' presented by The Endometriosis Collective, and a Sept. 30 MIT screening and panel where more than 250 people discussed endometriosis research and care.
MIT News highlighted a new documentary, "End of the Cycle," presented by The Endometriosis Collective, that aims to change how endometriosis is discussed. The page cites a United Nations figure that the condition affects more than 265 million women worldwide, about 1 in 10 women of reproductive age. It describes the disease as misunderstood, under-researched, and stigmatized.
The film was directed by Sammy Jaye and Soraya Simi and runs 1 hour, 21 minutes. According to MIT News, it combines personal stories, science, history, and cultural commentary. Its cast includes women living with endometriosis: Amy Schumer, Brittany Brown, Janel Parrish, Fọlákẹ́ Olówòfóyèkù, Julianne Hough, and Sammy Jaye Lang. Asked to describe the condition in three words, they answered "agony, isolation, harmful." The film also profiles Marilyn Monroe, who struggled with endometriosis until her death in 1962 at age 36.
Researchers and clinicians appear as well, among them MIT Professor Linda Griffith, director of the Center for Gynepathology Research at MIT. The page says she brings both scientific expertise and her own experience living with endometriosis. In the film, Griffith says that understanding how normal tissue is regulated is needed to understand diseased tissue better. She also says that collaboration across disciplines is how researchers will find answers, treatments, cures, and even prevention.
On Sept. 30, more than 250 members of the MIT community gathered for Menstruation Science Day at MIT, built around a screening of the film. Industry partners, clinicians, patient advocates, and endometriosis researchers joined students, faculty, donors, and entrepreneurs. MIT News says the stated purpose was to challenge misconceptions and encourage the next wave of research, innovation, and care.
Griffith moderated a panel after the screening. The panelists were Sammy Jaye Lang of the Endometriosis Collective; Steve Palmer of Baylor College of Medicine; MIT biology professor Eliezer Calo; Stephanie Morris, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Newton-Wellesley Hospital; and Aleshia Carlsen-Bryan of MIT Health. The page says they offered perspectives on where women's health innovation stands and what it will take to speed progress. It does not report specific outcomes from the discussion.
At a Glance
- The UN figure cited on the page: endometriosis affects more than 265 million women worldwide, about 1 in 10 of reproductive age.
- "End of the Cycle" was directed by Sammy Jaye and Soraya Simi and runs 1 hour, 21 minutes.
- More than 250 people attended Menstruation Science Day at MIT on Sept. 30, centered on a screening of the film.
- MIT Professor Linda Griffith, director of the Center for Gynepathology Research, appears in the film and moderated the panel.
Sources
This brief was written by Brightside Report from the reporting linked above. Spot an error? Request a correction.