FRIDA: Forwarding Research for Improved Detection and Access for Cervical Cancer Screening in Tlaxcala, Mexico

Before starting at the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program (JMP), I worked in Mexico as the international coordinator for a public health study looking to improve on the pap smear as a means of cervical cancer screening. Since starting the JMP, I have been able to continue my involvement in the project as a researcher, and traveled to Mexico this summer to help the project get off the ground. I was able to work closely with the research group during my time in Mexico to pilot a number of tests that will hopefully one day replace the pap smear as the standard for cervical cancer screening. The pap smear in Mexico is ineffective, and through this project, we hope to find a more affordable and higher performing alternative. I was able to spend time in both the field and the labs, as well as with the various researchers on the project. Together we were able to analyze the early data coming out of the project in order to describe the population and determine its homogeneity and suitability for our future analysis goals. We hope to eventually analyze both the performance and cost-effectiveness of these various cervical cancer screening tests. This analysis will be performed as part of my master’s thesis at the JMP.