Clinical Translational Research Seminar Series: Susan Cu-Uvin, MD

Susan Cu-Uvin, MD, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Medicine at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice at the School of Public Health; Director of the Brown Global Health Initiative; Principal Investigator of a D43 HIV and Cervical CA Training Grant with MOI University in Kenya; Director of the Providence / Boston Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) speaks on: “The Global Burden of HIV/HPV Related Cancers” The talk covered the epidemiology and pathogenesis of HIV/HPV related cancers globally. People with HIV have a seven-fold risk of developing cervical cancer. HPV persistence is higher among people with HIV. Among men who have sex with men and transgender women, there is a higher risk of developing anal cancer. There are new recommendations for cervical and anal cancer screening among people with HIV. However, there continue to be challenges in the implementation of HPV vaccination, screening and treatment of cervical and anal cancer in low-middle income countries. About Dr. Cu-Uvin Dr. Susan Cu-Uvin is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Medicine at The Warren Alpert School of Medicine, Brown University and Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice at the School of Public Health. She was the director of the Brown Biomed Global Health Initiative until 2023. She is the director of the Providence/Boston University Center for AIDS Research (CFAR). She has been NIH funded since 1996 and has been the Principal Investigator of several RO1s to assess HIV dynamics in the female genital tract. She had a K24 Mid-Career Investigator Award in Patient Oriented Research which allowed her to mentor several junior investigators locally as well as internationally. She is a co-investigator in microbicide studies and mucosal immunity in the female genital tract as well as cervical cancer screening and treatment particularly in low and middle income countries. She is a member of 3 HIV guideline committees: the Public Health Service Task Force/Perinatal Antiretroviral Guidelines Working Group; chairs the HPV Section Working Group, Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections. She has chaired and has been a member of several NIH review committees. Dr. Cu-Uvin continues to provide care for women and men with HIV. She helped establish the first cervical cancer screening and treatment program in Eldoret, Western Kenya (with Moi University and AMPATH) which started with a small grant from the Fogarty Center (NIH) with 125 women with HIV. The study showed a high prevalence of cervical dysplasia among these women. It also established the infrastructure to do visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) as screening tool for cervical cancer screening. The program has expanded to 10 counties and screened over 200,000 women. She had a UNFPA funded grant to screen 78,000 women in rural Kurigram, Bangladesh with VIA and mobile colposcope. This talk was given on December 12, 2024.

Introductory

Free