# Impact of intestinal helminth infection on HPV co-infection and the cervico-vaginal environment.

> **NIH NIH K23** · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · 2024 · $171,903

## Abstract

Project Summary
Dr. Clark is an Assistant Professor of Pediatric Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Baylor College of
Medicine (BCM) and a physician-scientist trained in immunoparasitology. Her career goal is to become an
independent molecular epidemiologist and perform high-quality clinical research that improves the health of
people living in low resource settings. The leading cause of cancer death for women in tropical low- and
middle-income countries (LMICs) is cervical cancer, which is caused by persistent infection with the human
papilloma virus (HPV). Cervical cancer rates are particularly high in LMICs with large intestinal helminth
burdens, and preliminary data show a significant population level association between intestinal helminth
infection and HPV infection. Dr. Clark proposes to evaluate whether intestinal helminth infection facilitates HPV
co-infection by altering the cervico-vaginal environment. She will conduct a cross-sectional study of adult
women undergoing cervical cancer screening in Peru. This innovative study aims to determine the prevalence
of HPV infection, evaluate cervico-vaginal cytokine profiles, and examine the distribution of cervico-vaginal
microbiota in women with and without intestinal helminth infection. Results of this work will suggest novel
interventions that are urgently needed to prevent cervical cancer in women living in LMICs. Dr. Clark’s unique
skill set will allow her to serve as a link between clinical discovery and public health system implementation of
new strategies for cervical cancer prevention. From a public health perspective, if intestinal helminth infection
increases a woman’s risk for HPV infection and therefore cervical cancer, deworming—a widely available, low-
cost intervention—should reduce the cervical cancer rates, thereby increasing the feasibility of cervical cancer
screening program implementation and reducing costs associated with early cervical dysplasia detection and
treatment programs. To accomplish these goals, Dr. Clark has developed a comprehensive career
development plan that combines thorough mentoring and training activities integrated into her clinical research
program. She will have regular meetings with her mentorship team, Dr. Elizabeth Chiao, an authority in virus
mediated malignancies and HPV screening, and Dr. Peter Hotez, a leader in parasitology and global health,
and will receive additional expert-level mentorship from her scientific advisory committee. Mentored research
will be supplemented with formal training activities including graduate-level coursework, directed studies, ad
participation in scientific meetings. Her career development plan is supported by a world-class scientific
environment at BCM, which offers ample opportunities for junior faculty development and provides all the
resources needed to achieve her career goals. The proposed mentored career development activities will
provide the focused mentorship and career development activitie...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10759441
- **Project number:** 5K23AI168583-03
- **Recipient organization:** BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Eva H Clark
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $171,903
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-01-24 → 2026-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10759441

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10759441, Impact of intestinal helminth infection on HPV co-infection and the cervico-vaginal environment. (5K23AI168583-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10759441. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*