That program became EndoRISE<\/a> (Endometriosis Research, Innovation, Support, and Education) and brought research infrastructure together with public awareness and clinical education in a coordinated statewide effort.<\/strong><\/p>\n The team behind this effort has a new publication in Frontiers in Reproductive Health<\/em><\/a> describing the EndoRISE model and how its core components could be adapted by other states and health systems.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe EndoRISE program was a labor of love that started with a small group of patients, advocates, legislators, doctors, and scientists, who wanted to make a difference in the lives of millions of women who suffer from endometriosis,\u201d said Danielle Luciano, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UConn Health and co-director of EndoRISE. \u201cThis paper presents a blueprint for other states to follow so there can be programs like this all over the country.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAfter passing the bills, we kept hearing from researchers, advocates, and patients in other states who wanted to know how we built this program and what steps we followed, so we wrote it all down… It took patients, clinicians, scientist and legislators working side by side, and we hope sharing that process helps accelerate endometriosis research well beyond Connecticut,\u201d says Elise Courtois, Ph.D., JAX assistant professor and co-director, EndoRISE<\/p>\n Building a resource for research<\/strong><\/p>\n At the center of EndoRISE\u2019s success is a statewide biorepository that combines biological samples with detailed clinical information. UConn Health brings medical, surgical and clinical expertise, while JAX contributes expertise in basic research, genomics technologies and biobanking, and advanced molecular technologies that honor the generosity of enrolled patients who donate their tissues to advance research.<\/p>\n Standardized and validated protocols through the WERF-EpHect tools<\/a> across participating institutions mean researchers can work with high quality, technology forward, consistently collected, carefully characterized samples.<\/p>\n Since its inception, more than 10,000 biospecimens including tissues biopsies (endometriosis lesions and endometrium biopsies), biological fluids (Blood, plasma, serum, peritoneal fluid, urine) and cells (peripheral mononucleated cells (PBMC) and peritoneal fluid cells) have been collected across two hospital institutions in Connecticut.<\/p>\n \u201cFor researchers like me, EndoRISE is an extraordinary opportunity: standardized, deeply phenotyped surgical biospecimens validated for single-cell and spatial technologies, RNA and proteomics advanced assays,\u201d Courtois said. \u201cIn a field where funding has been historically scarce, it lets investigators start asking biological questions instead of spending years assembling a tissue dataset. And because the state supports it through policy, the benefit is long-term.\u201d<\/p>\n Samples are now being distributed to academic laboratories and biotechnology companies nationally and internationally, opening the resource to researchers investigating endometriosis biology, biomarkers and new approaches to diagnosis and treatment.<\/p>\n At JAX, those samples are already enabling new discoveries. In a new study published in Nature Communications<\/em><\/a>, JAX researchers used biospecimen from the EndoRISE biorepository to create a detailed spatial map of endometriosis lesions, revealing how nerve, immune, and other cells interact within the tissue microenvironment.<\/p>\n By mapping where different cells are located and how they communicate, researchers identified interactions between neurons and immune cells that may help amplify pain and inflammation in endometriosis. The study, which was published on October 9, marks the first time the team has used tissue samples from EndoRISE and demonstrates how carefully collected, clinically characterized samples can be put to work to help those suffering from endometriosis.<\/p>\n![\"group](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/endo-rise-team-300x201.png\")
![\"human](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Endometriosis-lesion-shown-with-standard-histology.avif\")
Getting results<\/h3>\n