Carolyn Banister is a Ph.D. Candidate in Biomedical Sciences that has been with the Carolina Women’s Care Study from its inception.  She has played an instrumental role in the study design, specific aims, IRB certification/renewal, implementation, personnel, and daily management.  In her “extra” time she uses the samples received from the study to determine the presence of HPV and the specific subtypes as well as performs a 16 cytokine panel assay from the cervical mucus.  From this she will determine the key cytokines elicited from the viral infection which may lead to a better directed treatment of women who are not able to clear the virus and are therefore most likely to develop cervical cancer. 

  
            Currently the medical field treats all women with abnormal Pap smears even though many women, given time, will clear the virus on their own.  This aggressive approach leads to the over treatment of women leading to increased cost and pain for the patient at the time of treatment, as well as possible fertility issues in the future.  We seek to determine a specific biomarker signature that will triage patients with abnormal Pap tests and direct treatment to the ones at risk of developing cervical cancer.  Others, with normal cytokine patterns will not need treatment and can be followed with repeat Pap tests.