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Endometriosis 2026: A Nerve-Centric Disease is the first meeting in the field to place the nervous system at the center of endometriosis biology and surgical care. Held in Times Square, New York City, this two-day international conference brings together more than 35 leading experts to bridge advanced neuroscience with advanced endometriosis surgery.
The program reframes endometriosis as a neuroinflammatory, nerve-driven disease extending beyond the pelvis, exploring neuro-immune signaling, neuroangiogenesis, perineural fibrosis, and organ-specific pain across pelvic and extra-pelvic disease, including thoracic and sciatic endometriosis. Through integrated Science and Surgery sessions, the meeting spans discovery to practice—advancing understanding from molecular and neural circuits to real-world diagnosis, treatment, surgical management, pain control, and multidisciplinary care for clinicians, researchers, patients, caregivers, and advocates.
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| Time | Topic | Speaker | Moderators |
| 07:30 am - 08:00 am | Registration | ||
| 08:00 am - 08:10 am | Welcome: Day 1 Science Endometriosis 2026: The Big Nerve and Endometriosis |
Dan Martin, MD Frank Chervenak, MD |
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| Session I: | Dan Martin MD Michael Nimaroff MD |
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| 08:10 am - 08:30 am | Endometriosis as a Neurocentric Disease: Entering the AI Era | Tamer Seckin MD | |
| 08:30 am - 08:50 am | Neurogenic inflammation in peritoneal lesions and clinical consequences | Sylvia Mechsner, MD | |
| 08:50 am - 09:10 am | Neuroimmune communication drives lesions and pain in endometriosis | Michael S. Rogers PhD | |
| 09:10 am - 09:30 am | Nociception in Endometriosis Lesions: Insights from High Resolution Molecular Mapping and Neuro-Immune networks | Elise Courtois, PhD. | |
| 09:30 am - 09:45 am | Discussion | ||
| 09:45 am - 10:00 am | Break | ||
| Session II: | Elise Courtois, PhD. Semir Beyaz PhD |
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| 10:00 am - 10:20 am | Spleen neuro-immune interactions and inflammation | Ibrahim T. Mughrabi, MD, PhD | |
| 10:20 am - 10:40 am | Neuromodulation of neuro-immune circuits | Stavros Zanos, MD, PhD | |
| 10:40 am - 11:00 am | Central sensitization driven by neuroinflammation in endometriosis | Kanako Hayashi, PhD. | |
| 11:00 am - 11:20 am | Preclinical Modeling of Endometriosis-Associated Pain: Neural Remodeling and Disease Pathophysiology | Jae-Wook Jeong, PhD | |
| 11:20 am - 11:35 am | Discussion | ||
| 11:35 am - 11:50 am | Break | ||
| 11:50 am 12:35 pm |
Keynote: Vagus Nerves in Endometriosis: Role and Therapeutic Potentials |
Sun-Wei Guo, PhD | Stavros Zanos, MD PhD Tamer Seckin, MD |
| 12:35 pm - 01:30 pm | Lunch Break & Talk: Cat Bohannon | ||
| Session III | Ibrahim T. Mughrabi, MD, PhD Jae-Wook Jeong, PhD |
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| 01:30 pm - 01:50 pm | Recognition of Endometriosis | Dan Martin, MD | |
| 01:50 pm - 02:10 pm | Central Sensitization: Why Endometriosis Pain Persists After Surgery | Michael Nimaroff, MD, MBA | |
| 02:10 pm - 02:30 pm | Centralization, Neuroplasticity, and the Speculative Role of the Vagus Nerve in Endometriosis (V) | Philippe Koninckx, MD | |
| 02:30 pm - 02:50 pm | Egg freezing Or Endometriosis surgery - what should come first ?! | Tomer Singer, MD, MBA | |
| 02:50 pm - 03:10 pm | Multi-omic Analysis of Human Endometrium and Endometriosis | Semir Beyaz, PhD | |
| 03:10 pm - 03:25 pm | Discussion | ||
| 03:25 pm - 03:40 pm | Break | ||
| Session IV: | Katherine Burns, PhD Michael S. Rogers PhD |
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| 03:40 am - 04:00 am | From Menstrual Effluent to Nociceptors: Neutrophils Triggering Endometriosis Pain | Katherine Burns, PhD | |
| 04:00 pm - 04:20 pm | Functional brain MRI under different medications in endometriosis patients | Wolfgang Küpker, MD, PhD | |
| 04:20 pm - 04:40 pm | Endometrial Panic: A Psychobiological Phenomenon | Arnold Wilson, PhD | |
| 04:40 pm - 05:00 pm | Nerve Centricity in Endometriosis: Microscopic Evidence and Mechanistic Pathways | Ayse Ayhan, MD, PhD | |
| 05:00 pm - 05:30 pm | End of the Day & Discussion | Tamer Seckin, MD Dan Martin, MD |
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| 07:00 pm - 10:00 pm | FACULTY DINNER | ||
| Time | Topic | Speaker | Moderators |
| 08:00 am - 08:10 am | Welcome Day 2 Surgery: Endometriosis 2026: The Big Nerve and Endometriosis |
Sylvia Mechsner, MD | |
| 08:10 am - 08:20 am | Cancer-driver Mutation and Nerve Innervation in Endometriosis | Ie Ming Shih, MD | |
| 08:20 am - 08:30 am | The Dark Side of the Endometrioma: Pain, Iron, and Oncogenic Transformation | Jeannine Ann Villella, DO | |
| Session I | Adi Katz, MD Ted Lee, MD |
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| 08:30 am - 08:50 am | Why is Endometriosis is a Neurocentric Disease | Tamer Seckin, MD | |
| 08:50 am - 09:10 am | Nerve-Centric Surgical Planning in Endometriosis: From Neuroinflammation to Excision Strategy | Hélder Ferreira MD, PhD, MBA | |
| 09:10 am - 09:30 am | Endometriosis Is a Nerve Disease—So Why Are We Still Treating It Like a Gynecologic One? | Nash Moawad, MD | |
| 09:30 am - 09:50 am | The hypothalamus: control of the circle of pain in endometriosis | Serdar Bulun, MD | |
| 09:50 am - 10:05 am | Discussion | ||
| 10:05 am - 10:20 am | Break | ||
| Session II | Nash Moawad, MD Mauricio Abrao, MD |
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| 10:20 am - 10:40 am | Beyond Endometriosis: Why Neuropelveological Expertise Is Essential to Understand Pelvic Pain (V) | Marc Possover, MD | |
| 10:40 am - 11:00 am | Presentation of 4 case reports with lumbosacral endometriosis and treatment strategies | Sylvia Mechsner, MD | |
| 11:00 am - 11:20 am | Laparoscopic Pudendal Nerve Decompression for Pudendal Neuralgia Refractory to Conservative Management | Liron Bar-el, MD | |
| 11:20 am - 11:40 am | Adenomyosis and Pain: The Hidden Drivers of Uterine Pain—From Myometrium to Nociceptors | Sun-Wei Guo, PhD | |
| 11:40 am - 11:55 am | Discussion | ||
| 11:55 am - 12:10 pm | Break | ||
| 12:10 pm 12:55 pm |
Keynote: Advancing Reproductive Outcome in Endometriosis and Adenomyosis: From Classification to AI and Fundamental Research. |
Assia Stepanian, MD | Dan Martin MD Helder Ferreira MD |
| 12:55 pm - 01:40 pm | Lunch |
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| Session III | Wolfgang Kupker, MDJeannine Ann Villella, DO | ||
| 01:40 pm - 02:00 pm | Imaging Diagnosis for Endometriosis Involving Nerves | Mauricio Abrao, MD | |
| 02:00 pm - 02:20 pm | Depression in endometriosis | Hugh Taylor, MD | |
| 02:20 pm - 02:40 pm | Presacral Neurectomy in a Nerve‑Centric Era: Selective Denervation for the Right Patient | Ted Lee, MD | |
| 02:40 pm - 03:00 pm | Dealing with endometriosis of pelvic nerves: My way (V) | Horace Roman, MD | |
| 03:00 pm - 03:20 pm | Mind the Nerves: Impact of Deep Endometriosis Surgery on Bladder Function | Fatih Sendag, MD | |
| 03:20 pm - 03:35 pm | Discussion | ||
| 03:35 pm - 03:50 pm | Break | ||
| Session IV | Liron Bar-el, MD Fatih Sendag, MD |
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| 03:50 pm - 04:10 pm | Pregnancy in Endometriosis and Adenomyosis: Maternal–Fetal Risks | Anthony Vintzileos, MD | |
| 04:10 pm - 04:30 pm | Endometriosis Like Pain without Endometriosis: The Venous Diagnosis Surgeons Miss | Ana Sierra, MD | |
| 04:30 pm - 04:50 pm | Modern Advancements in IVF Treatments | Brian Levine, MD | |
| 04:50 pm - 05:10 pm | Endometriosis Pain During IVF Treatment | Serin Seckin, MD | |
| 05:10 pm - 05:30 pm | Discussion - End of the day | ||
