Ten years. That's roughly how long a woman waits between her first endometriosis symptom and her diagnosis, and most of that clock runs in primary care and general gynecology offices where painful periods get filed as normal.

Dr. Hugh Taylor has spent his career on this disease — the biology of why endometrial tissue establishes itself outside the uterus, and what that means for the patient sitting in front of you. He joins MNDG to talk through what should raise suspicion earlier and in whom, how medical management has shifted, where surgery still earns its place and where it doesn't, and what the work on menstrual-blood and serum biomarkers could mean for a diagnosis that has historically required laparoscopy.

Hugh Taylor, MD, is the Anita O'Keeffe Young Professor and Chair of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine, Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Yale New Haven Hospital, and Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at Yale University. He directs the Yale Center for Reproductive Biology and is internationally recognized for his work on endometriosis, with clinical interests spanning endometriosis, infertility, implantation, menopause, and uterine anomalies. His research covers the role of stem cells, epigenetics, and microRNA in endometriosis, and has produced novel disease markers and treatment approaches. He has published more than 500 articles, served as president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the Society for Reproductive Investigation, and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.