For Patients
Find trusted information, resources and a supportive community. You are not alone.
Learn More
Your pain is real.
You deserve to be heard.
We unite research and patient experience to improve life for people with urogenital pain.
Research / Education / Advocacy / Community
For Researchers
Collaborate, access resources and help advance understanding of urogenital pain.
Learn MoreFor Supporters
Join us in creating change through awareness, advocacy and philanthropy.
Learn MoreOur Mission
Better Understanding.
Better Care. Better Quality of Life.
We investigate the origins and treatment of urogenital pain, bridge research and care, and challenge barriers and stigma.
Research
We support and advance research to better understand the causes, mechanisms and treatment options for urogenital pain.
Explore Our ResearchEducation & Advocacy
We share evidence-based information, advocate for greater awareness and help break down the stigma that too often silences this community.
Find ResourcesPatient Voices
We elevate lived experience, ensure patient perspectives inform progress, and build a more compassionate, inclusive future for care.
Get InvolvedOur Story
From the Clinic
to a Movement
A foundation born from science, shaped by patients, and driven by the belief that intimate pain deserves to be understood—not dismissed.
The Founder
Dr. Denniz Zolnoun, MD
Dr. Zolnoun founded ZenNovid with a profound vision: to alleviate pelvic pain and combat the societal stigmas tied to sexual wellness. This endeavor was deeply influenced by her scientific acumen, the challenges she faced in patient care, and an unwavering determination.
Her early translational research centered on the science of the skin barrier and urogenital comfort: understanding how protection, moisture, and friction shape intimate health. That clinical insight now anchors the foundation’s research, education, and patient advocacy.
In 2011, Dr. Zolnoun’s dedication to women’s health was recognized with the Women’s Health Research Medtronic Prize, celebrating her research on sex differences and her influential role as a mentor.
How the Foundation began
A Beacon of Hope in the Nonprofit Sector
Building on this legacy, the ZenNovid Foundation emerged with a commitment to self-care and holistic well-being. The foundation employs cutting-edge science to offer tangible solutions to urogenital pain. Rooted in compassion and driven by robust patient collaboration, its mission is to restore dignity and enhance quality of life. Every donation directly propels the foundation’s research and educational endeavors—championing a future where pain is a relic of the past.
What we stand for
Mission, Vision & Values
Mission
To improve the quality of life of patients with urogenital pain by breaking down gender barriers, promoting integration over segregation, and uniting in a relentless investigation to understand the origin of pain and its treatment.
Vision
A world in which everyone with urogenital pain receives the care as it should be, quality as it must be, without shame or judgment.
Values
Patients first. We listen deeply, believe fully, and prioritize comfort and care in everything we do.
01
Patients First
We listen deeply, believe fully, and prioritize comfort and care in everything we do.
02
Closing the Gap
We bridge the disconnect between clinical research and real patient experiences to bring timely, effective solutions.
03
Raising the Standard
We push for a new era of care—rooted in empathy, evidence, and respect for those experiencing intimate pain.
04
Education & Advocacy
We educate physicians, empower patients, and challenge stigma around sensitive health issues, especially for women and underserved communities.
Leadership
Board of Directors & Leadership
The people guiding the foundation’s mission: clinicians, advocates, and operators committed to restoring dignity in urogenital health.
Denniz Zolnoun, MD
Founder & Executive Director
Board-certified OB/GYN, researcher, and recipient of the Women’s Health Research Medtronic Prize. Dr. Zolnoun leads the foundation’s scientific and clinical vision.
Tiffany Brackens
Chief Operating Officer
Tiffany leads the foundation’s day-to-day operations, systems, and team coordination, turning the mission into execution across clinical, research, and outreach programs. She brings deep experience in operations and project management for healthcare and wellness organizations.
Nataly Faddoulnader
Programs & Development Intern
A sophomore in the biopharmaceutical program at Vernon Malone College and Career Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina, Nataly plans to pursue a career in medicine. A Red Cross volunteer and Teen Board Member at Note in the Pocket, she supports the foundation’s programs and development work and its mission to break the stigma surrounding chronic intimate pain.
Thomas (Tom) Coleman
Board Member
Life sciences executive with a background in organic chemistry, pharmaceutical R&D, and market access, including more than 17 years at Eli Lilly and Company leading formulary access and launch performance. He founded HealthStar Solutions, LLC in 2019.
Kristin Giuliani
Board Member
Experienced chief executive in the health, wellness, and consumer products industry, with deep expertise in business development, market planning, sales, and retail.
John Berkey
Board Member
Managing Partner of J. Berkey and Company in Bradenton, Florida, with more than two decades of experience serving the financial needs of individuals and small businesses. He also serves on the board of Easterseals.
Advisors and collaborators supporting the foundation in research, education, and community outreach will be featured here.
Foundation team
The Team Behind the Mission
From research dissemination and medical illustration to creative direction, this team turns the foundation’s mission into daily work.
Mohammadamin Parsaei, MD
Director of Education & Curriculum Development
Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Family Health Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Amin coordinates the scientific dissemination of the foundation’s research: data analysis, abstracts for scientific meetings, manuscript development, and the publication process that advances women’s health.
Alireza Arvin, MD
Medical Illustrator & Scientific Visualization Specialist
Physician and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, CEO of Banyan Innovation Center, and founder of ScienceFigs. Alireza transforms complex anatomical concepts into clear, accurate illustrations for manuscripts, education, and patient materials, making the invisible understandable.
Chander Shekhar Gilhotra
Creative Director, Brand & Design
Founder of AVA Design Media with more than a decade of experience building brands, campaigns, and digital experiences. Chander leads the foundation’s visual identity and creative direction, shaping the design systems that carry its educational mission.
Research
Science in Service
of Dignity
Rigorous, patient-centered research into the origins and treatment of urogenital and pelvic pain, led by clinicians who listen first.
Focus areas
What We Study
Pain Mechanisms & Sex Differences
Understanding how chronic intimate pain develops, why it is so often overlooked, and how sex differences shape both the experience of pain and the path to relief.
Vulvar & Urogenital Pain
Advancing the clinical understanding of vulvodynia and related urogenital pain conditions, from anatomy and physiology to practical, compassionate treatment.
Patient-Centered Outcomes
Bridging the gap between clinical research and lived patient experience so that findings translate into real relief, not just publications.
Publications
Selected Work & Recognition
Our founder’s peer-reviewed research on vulvar pain, pain mechanisms, and sex differences spans two decades of clinical scholarship.
01
Women’s Health Research Medtronic Prize (2011)
Awarded to Dr. Zolnoun in recognition of her research on sex differences in pain and her role as a mentor to emerging scientists.
02
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Dr. Zolnoun’s published work on vulvodynia, pelvic pain, and pain anatomy is indexed on PubMed. Browse her publications.
03
Manuscripts in Progress
Active manuscripts and population studies are underway in collaboration with academic partners. Details will be shared here as they are published.
04
Collaborate with Us
We welcome academic collaborators in sociology, epidemiology, public health, and women’s health. Start a conversation.
Students & researchers
Opportunities to Work with Us
The foundation hosts practicum students and research assistants beginning Fall 2026. Positions may include a stipend.
Scientific Writing
Analyze manuscripts, support literature reviews, and help move active research toward publication. Suited to graduate students in the health sciences.
Public Health Education
Create evidence-based health education content for social media and community outreach. Suited to health behavior and health education students.
Epidemiology & Data
Support population studies and data analysis with our clinical and academic partners. Suited to epidemiology and biostatistics students.
Innovation
From the Bedside
to the Workbench
Turning unmet clinical needs into practical, patient-centered solutions through disciplined engineering and real-world clinical insight.
Initiatives
What We Are Building
Patient Consulting
Primary Initiative
Specialized consultations for chronic pelvic and urogenital pain with Dr. Denniz Zolnoun, delivered by telehealth and in person. Every engineering effort begins here: listening to patients and identifying the needs that standard care leaves unmet.
Patient Centered Pelvic Care
Patent Pending
A patient-informed engineering initiative enabling a higher standard of care through supportive tools for pelvic care and comfort. Details will be shared as development and protection of the work progress.
Patient Centered Pelvic Care
Rethinking Hygiene and Dignity in Bedridden Care
How patient-centered engineering can transform daily hygiene, skin health, and wound monitoring for bedridden patients and their caregivers.
Engineering
Meet Our Engineering Innovation Advisor
Ahmad Ekhlassi
Engineering Innovation Advisor
Ahmad Ekhlassi is a mechanical engineer and engineering executive with more than four decades of experience designing complex systems, specialized tooling, and mission-critical hardware for the aerospace industry. Supporting NASA programs at Kennedy Space Center, he led multidisciplinary teams of more than 100 engineers responsible for the design, certification, testing, and deployment of ground support equipment for the Space Shuttle, Orion spacecraft, and Space Launch System.
Today he applies that same disciplined approach to improving the lives of patients. Collaborating closely with our physicians, and working from his own fully equipped machine shop and fabrication studio, Ahmad designs, machines, and manufactures functional prototypes ranging from specialized medical instruments and measurement devices to patient positioning systems, rehabilitation aids, and hygiene products.
Every innovation follows an iterative design process grounded in real-world clinical experience. Physician observations, patient feedback, and analysis of prototype testing shape each design cycle, allowing ideas conceived at the bedside to become thoughtfully engineered solutions that improve patient comfort, safety, and quality of life.
Launch Partner Program
Partner with Us to Bring Relief Closer to Patients
Our Launch Partner Program is a meaningful collaboration between healthcare providers and the Foundation—expanding awareness, improving access, and generating sustainable funding for the communities we serve.
How it works
A No-Risk Way for Practices to Help Patients and the Mission
Through this partnership, we provide your practice with educational materials, patient handouts, informational flyers, and select mission-supporting products that align with our goals and values.
To ensure partners benefit too, products are initially supplied without upfront purchase requirements. Once products have sold, we invoice your office only for the agreed wholesale cost—so your practice retains the retail margin while contributing to a charitable mission.
As a partner you receive
Educational patient handouts and informational materials
Promotional flyers and awareness resources
Access to mission-supporting products for patient purchase
The opportunity to generate additional revenue through retail sales
Recognition as a community partner supporting our nonprofit mission
Direct support of research and education with every product sold
Getting started
Four Simple Steps
1
Apply
Tell us about your practice and patient community using the short form below.
2
Connect
We’ll reach out to align on goals, products, and what your patients need most.
3
Receive
Products are supplied to your office up front—no purchase required to start.
4
Grow
Sell to patients, keep the retail margin, and we invoice only the wholesale cost of items sold.
Apply now
Become a Launch Partner
Tell us a little about your practice and we’ll be in touch. Questions? Email partnerships@zennovidfoundation.org.
For Patients
Care That Starts
with Believing You
If you live with chronic intimate or pelvic pain, you deserve care that listens deeply, takes your pain seriously, and treats you with dignity.
Our approach
What We Help with
Chronic Vulvar & Pelvic Pain
Specialized consultation for vulvodynia and related pain conditions, grounded in decades of clinical research and patient care.
Urogenital Discomfort
Evaluation of persistent urogenital pain and discomfort, including symptoms that have been dismissed or unexplained elsewhere.
A Second Opinion
If you have been told it is all in your head, we start from a different place: your pain is real, and it has an origin worth finding.
What to expect
How a Visit Works
01
Reach Out
Request an appointment through the patient portal or by email. Online scheduling is coming soon.
02
Choose Your Setting
Visits are available by telehealth or in person at our Tampa, Florida office.
03
Your First Visit
A thorough, unhurried consultation focused on your history, your symptoms, and your goals. You will be heard.
04
Ongoing Care
A personalized plan with follow-up visits, education, and support through the patient portal.
Patient Portal Request an Appointment
This website is for general information and is not a substitute for medical advice. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911.
Get Involved
Help Us Turn Silence
Into Support
There are many ways to advance the mission—every one of them brings comfort, dignity, and relief closer for someone who needs it.
Donate
Your gift directly funds research and patient education. Give securely through our Voices for Vaginal Wellness fund.
Share Your Story
Real patient voices shape everything we do. If you’re comfortable sharing your experience, it helps others feel less alone.
Volunteer
Designers, marketers, medical professionals, writers, and organizers: every skill has a place in this mission.
Partner with Us
Are you a healthcare provider? Offer mission-supporting products in your practice and advance our work.
For patients
Request an Appointment
Consultations with Dr. Denniz Zolnoun are available by telehealth or in person in Tampa, Florida. Tell us how to reach you and we will follow up to schedule.
Get in Touch
We’d love to hear from you.
The ZenNovid Foundation
PO Box 369, Carrboro, NC 27510-0369
partnerships@zennovidfoundation.org
www.zennovidfoundation.org
Stay connected
Join Our Newsletter
Occasional updates on research, education, and ways to help. No spam—ever.
Volunteer
Lend Your Talent
to the Mission
Every skill has a place here. Volunteers power our research, education, and outreach, and help us reach people who have been suffering in silence.
Where we need help
Ways to Contribute
01
Graphic & Web Design
Visuals, social graphics, and web improvements that carry our educational message with clarity and warmth.
02
Marketing & Social Media
Campaigns, content, community management, and outreach that grow our reach and end the silence around intimate pain.
03
Medical & Research
Clinicians, researchers, and students who can support education, literature review, and patient resources.
04
Writing & Education
Blog articles, patient handouts, newsletters, and curriculum support that make good science understandable.
05
Events & Community Outreach
Organizing drives, community events, and awareness efforts that bring the mission to more people.
06
Administrative & Operations
Scheduling, coordination, and the behind-the-scenes work that keeps every program moving.
Sign up
Volunteer Sign-Up
Tell us a little about yourself and how you would like to help. We will reach out to find the right fit.
Blog
Dr. Z's Blog
Education, research updates, and honest conversation about urogenital health from Dr. Zolnoun and the foundation team.
Vulvar Pain in Black Women: How Lichen Sclerosus Shows Up Differently on Darker Skin
How vulvar skin conditions can present differently on darker skin, why these differences can be missed, and why Black women deserve care that starts by believing them.
You Are Not Imagining It: Why the ZenNovid Foundation Exists
After decades of caring for patients, the words I hear most often in the exam room are not about symptoms. They come near the end of a visit, usually quietly: “You are…