A documentary about endometriosis, with MIT in the frame.

Copyright

Sammy Jaye & Soraya Simi | The Endometriosis Collective

by David Sweeney

Oct. 16, 2026

#healthcare

#public health

#womens health

Susan Blumenthal, MD

Visiting Professor; Director's Circle Member

Canan Dagdeviren

Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences

At WHx , the MIT Media Lab's Women's Health program, we believe women's health has been overlooked for too long and that technology can help change that, as underscored by Dr. Susan Blumenthal, MIT Visiting Professor and the country’s first Deputy Assistant Secretary for Women’s Health. Led at the Lab by Canan Dagdeviren , WHx advances interdisciplinary research and technologies that address critical gaps in women's health across the lifespan. As part of MIT HEALS , we're connected to women's health research across the Institute. But progress takes more than new technology. It takes people paying attention and developing solutions.

That's what makes the documentary End of the Cycle so compelling. A film by Sammy Jaye and Soraya Simi, presented by The Endometriosis Collective , an advocacy nonprofit, it puts a human face on a disease that is too often dismissed. The film highlights how endometriosis affected the lives of actress Marilyn Monroe; Amy Schumer; comedian, actress, and writer Brittany Brown; US Olympic medalist and runner; and dancer and actress Julianne Hough, among others. Two leading MIT experts are featured: Professor Linda Griffith , Director of MIT's Center for Gynepathology Research (CGR), and Susan J. Blumenthal, M.D., Former Assistant Surgeon General of the United States, and Honorary Chair, WHx Program, MIT Media Lab. MIT screened the film on Menstruation Science Day, co-hosted by CGR, where an expert panel discussed how to accelerate the development of new treatments. Now you can get a first look.

Watch the documentary on endocollective.org

The science behind the story is happening right here at MIT. Griffith's lab and CGR are a hands-on engine of MIT HEALS's women's health focus. They develop next-generation drug discovery tools, like microfluidic "organs-on-chips," supported by the $10 million Fairbairn Menstruation Science Fund . The Endometriosis Collective uses the film to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and secure funding for scientific research on the disease. That is the kind of support this work urgently needs.

Research

Fortune explores how Susan Blumenthal, MIT Media Lab visiting professor, helped advance breast cancer detection using Cold War tech.

Dr. Susan Blumenthal will join MAS.S65 on February 11 to share her remarkable story on women's health.

Susan Blumenthal awarded France’s Legion of Honor for global leadership in women’s health, cancer innovation & MIT Media Lab’s WHx program.

Institut Curie honors Susan Blumenthal with Marie Curie Medal for leadership in women’s health and cancer research.