USA Health Cervical Cancer Research Awarded Grant

Dr. Santanu Dasgupta, a cancer researcher at the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute (MCI) and assistant professor of pathology at the University of South Alabama (USA) College of Medicine, recently received a $126,000 grant from the Elsa U. Pardee Foundation to identify certain stress-related factors that aid in initiation and progression of cervical cancer. In the U.S., cervical cancer causes significant mortality in racially disparate women living under constant socioeconomic stress. The goal is to identify the early epigenetic changes in cervical cancer to help in risk assessment and develop improved prevention strategies in these women, with a long-term goal of identifying specific factors relating to high mortality due to cervical cancer in our region and work in collaboration to reduce disparity gaps. The mortality rate for cervical cancer is the highest in Alabama and continues to rise every year. The study will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Ajay Singh, head of the Cancer Biology and Cancer Health Disparities Programs at MCI and professor of pathology at the USA College of Medicine, and Dr. Jennifer Young Pierce, a gynecologic oncologist who is head of the Cancer Control and Prevention Program at MCI and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the USA College of Medicine.