Endometriosis Care

Endometriosis causes severe pelvic pain and reduces fertility for millions of women worldwide.

Endometriosis CaRe Oxford is an internationally acclaimed centre of expertise in clinical care and research into Endometriosis. It is part of the Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health at the University of Oxford.

Our research aims to identify the causes of this disease, contributing to an enhanced understanding of its various forms. This knowledge will support the development of novel drug and non-invasive biomarker discovery programs.

For research and media enquires, please email the team: endocare@wrh.ox.ac.uk

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Endometriosis stat

A banner image stating that applications to study at the EndoCaRe Centre in 2025 are now Closed. Also links to a form to complete for visitors and 2026 onwards applications,

Innovative Imaging solution offers potential breakthrough in Endometriosis Detection

Dr Tatjana Gibbons will take centre stage at the upcoming Society for Reproductive Investigation (SRI) annual meeting in Vancouver in March.

New global study shows the experience of Endometriosis is rooted in a person’s genetics

Multiple Debilitating Pains

Researchers at the University of Oxford in collaboration with 25 teams across the world have published the largest study to date of the genetic basis of endometriosis.

One of our key areas of research is to uncover the causes and subtypes of endometriosis through large-scale genetic and molecular epidemiological studies. Genetic (heritable) factors are known to play a role in endometriosis, and – through collaborative studies involving thousands of women – we have led global research identifying DNA variants in the genome that are associated with disease risk. Current work involves understanding the biological mechanisms through which these DNA variants act, and expanding our world-wide genetic studies to find more risk variants.

Genetic Molecular Epidemiological Studies

Genetics are known to play a role in endometriosis. Through collaborative studies involving thousands of women, we have led global research to identify DNA variants in the genome associated with disease risk.

Did you know there are different types of pain?

In this podcast, we chat to Dr Lydia Coxon, who is looking at the mechanisms that cause pain in patients with endometriosis and how can we improve treatment.

Endometriosis podcast - listen now!

‘Unheard of – The hidden voice of endometriosis’ is co-hosted by DPhil students Danielle Perro and Magda Mareckova. It seeks answers to the biggest questions posed by the Endometriosis community.

Pain in Women

How endometriosis generates pain is still poorly understood. A key focus of our work is to combine brain imaging techniques with clinical data, including detailed pain assessments, hormone measures and the results of surgery, to understand the relationship between endometriosis and pain.

World Leading Research

With our integrated endometriosis research programme we hope to re-classify the disease using a combination of biological and clinical parameters, to discover new, non-invasive biomarkers and to identify novel targets for more individualised treatments.

MISSION

We aim to to provide evidence-based, patient-focussed care of the highest quality and conduct groundbreaking clinical and scientific research.

Clinicians in Theatre at the EndoCaRe Centre.

PATIENTS

A weekly specialised Endometriosis Clinic runs every Monday afternoon in the outpatient area on Level 1 of the Women’s Centre at John Radcliffe Hospital.

Clinician meeting with a patient at the EndoCaRe Centre.

RESEARCH

Our research focuses on improving the understanding of endometriosis, working towards non-surgical methods of diagnosis and identifying better treatments.

Researchers at work in the lab at the EndoCaRe Centre.

EDUCATION

The Endometrosis CaRe Centre provides education and training for clinical and research students with a particular focus on postgraduates (MSc and DPhil).

Lecture being held at the EndoCaRe Centre.

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

Staff and students in the EndoCaRe Centre regularly do outreach and engagement work in schools and the local community to improve the public's understanding of endometriosis and related issues and offer support to those affected by the disease. Click here to find out more about the Centre's media coverage and the outreach work we do.

BRC Open Day

DPhil students from our Endometriosis research group, delivered a thought provoking and popular workshop to year 7 and 8 students at the Cheney School in Oxford, as part of a "Future of Genetics" Day. The aim was to inspire the next generation of scientists on how research utilises “future technology” single-cell RNA-sequencing for studying endometriosis.

WATCH VIDEO

Learn more about the symptoms, treatment and support for endometriosis by watching this short video from endometriosis.org.

Our Team

Our team includes research groups led by professors Krina Zondervan, Christian Becker and Katy Vincent. Their work focuses on understanding the causes of endometriosis and subtypes of disease, its relation to symptomatology including pelvic pain, and identification of novel non-invasive diagnostic markers and treatments. Dr Jen Southcombe is a Research Scientist investigating cellular mechanisms of disease with a specific interest in immunology. Dr. Nilufer Rahmioglu is a Senior Research Scientist from the Centre for Human Genetics, at the Nuffield Department of Medicine.

Click here to see our full team of research midwives and nurses, researchers, support staff, and students.

Latest publications

Evaluation of a two-tier preterm birth prevention service in a tertiary hospital in the United Kingdom: a retrospective cohort study.
Shea M. et al, (2025), BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
Genome-wide analyses identify 25 infertility loci and relationships with reproductive traits across the allele frequency spectrum.
Venkatesh SS. et al, (2025), Nat Genet
International multicenter prospective evaluation of PAS management in 23 IS-PAS member centers.
Braun T. et al, (2025), Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand
The Sit Down and Play Intervention Improves Neurodevelopmental Outcomes
Metgud D. et al, (2025), Indian Journal of Pediatrics

Krina Zondervan

Head of Department, Professor of Reproductive & Genomic Epidemiology, Co-Director Endometriosis CaRe Centre.

krina.zondervan@wrh.ox.ac.uk

+44 (0)1865 740382 / 221003 (PA)