Endometriosis Australia
Research Grant Funding

We are proud to announce the winners of the 2021 Endometriosis Australia research funding.

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Endometriosis Australia is awarding a total sum of $100,000 to the following endometriosis related projects: 

Project One

Project Title: “The development of phenotype-specific organoid models of endometriosis for therapeutic targeting”.

UNSW | Associate Professor Caroline Ford

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This project will bring together expert scientific and clinical teams from UNSW Sydney and the Royal Hospital for Women to grow and study different types of endometriosis in a laboratory setting. Cells will be isolated from women already having surgery for endometriosis, and will be used to develop and test new medications for treatment. The research team, led by A/Prof Ford hopes that these lab models will help researchers to better understand why different types of endometriosis cause different symptoms, spread to different organs and fail to respond to medicines and surgeries. Ultimately this could lead to more personalised and effective treatment for individual women with endometriosis.

Learn more:  https://www.gyncancerresearch.org/

Project Two

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Project Title: “Environmental risk factors for endometriosis”.

The University of Queensland | Dr. Brett McKinnon

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The cause of endometriosis is still unknown. Our overall goal is to understand how and why endometriosis develops and use this knowledge to reduce the toll on women and girls in Australia.  Research indicates that both genetics and environment contribute approximately equally to the risk of developing endometriosis. This suggests that where a patient lives or what they do in Australia could be influencing their risk and outcome of disease, making such data potentially actionable. We wish to investigate the prevalence of endometriosis at different regions across Australia, whether this changes in rural and urban settings and whether this may relate to specific clinical factors to help understand the impact of environment and lifestyle on endometriosis susceptibility and progression.  Suffers with endometriosis will be asked to complete a questionnaire about environment and lifestyle exposure. This data will be combined with existing data on clinical histories, surgical details and the analysis of biological samples. It is hoped that data can be combined with similar studies running across Australia to create a powerful database that will produce a broader more incisive picture of endometriosis risk.

Project Three

Project Title: “School teachers and parents/carers understanding of endometriosis and pelvic pain”.

Western Sydney University | Dr. Christina Curry

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This research project will be used to develop an online resource; Menstruation Matters to support teachers, parents/carers and young people to help them better understand their periods, manage symptoms and know when they need to seek further help. We know that many young people get information about their periods from their mum, but often mum (or dad) might not always give the right advice, despite their best intentions. Similarly, most people learn about periods at school, but our research has shown that often the information given is not that helpful. We think that making sure everyone has access to the same, accurate, information might help reduce the over six year delay that currently exists for diagnosing endometriosis. This project will engage with school teachers, parents/carers, as well as young people with endometriosis, to explore what understandings they have, what kind of information they need, and how best to deliver it to them.

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Learn more:   http://menstruationmatters.com.au/

Stay updated! 

Fill out the form below and we will be in touch regarding any future research grant funding opportunities.

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About the Research Grant Application

Preferences will be given to projects that address

the following topics:

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• Medical, surgical and allied health aspects of endometriosis care

• Basic sciences associated with endometriosis

• Patient-centred educational or support tools

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Applications will be assessed on the following deliverables:

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• Capacity to be completed

• Scientific or research merit

• Impact on endometriosis as a disease

• Impact on the improvement of the lives of women with endometriosis

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Who Can Apply?

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Both individuals and organisations will be eligible to submit an application for funding by the Grants Committee. Applicants should note that seed funding for projects is acceptable but additions to projects that are currently funded will not be considered. The contribution and acknowledgment of Endometriosis Australia to all research publications, programs, brochures, applications or other outcomes from the research will be a requirement of receipt from the funding. 

Please consider supporting Endometriosis Australia. Your donations will help us continue to fund new research.