Dr. Jane Montealegre is an associate professor at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. She is a behavioral epidemiologist and implementation scientist with research expertise in the design, implementation, and evaluation of community- and health system-based interventions to address cancer health disparities. Much of her research focuses on the prevention and detection of cervical and other human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers in underserved and minoritized populations. She is PD of two continuously-funded CPRIT Prevention Programs that target safety net health systems and aim to 1) increase access to and utilization of cervical and colorectal cancer screening and follow-up among adult patients; and 2) increase delivery and uptake of HPV vaccination and tobacco prevention services among pre-adolescent and adolescent patients.
A significant part of Dr. Montealegre’s research focuses on the implementation of self-sampling for primary HPV testing to improve access to and utilization of cervical cancer screening in underscreened populations. She is a member of the American Cancer Society National Roundtable on Cervical Cancer Screening Self-Sampling Workgroup that is charged with addressing considerations needed to prepare and implement self-sampling (once FDA approved) for cervical cancer screening. Her research in this area includes an NIH-funded pragmatic randomized trial to evaluate self-sample HPV testing with patient navigation in a U.S. safety net health system and a community-based trial evaluating a community health worker model for implementing self-sampling HPV testing in the Rio Grande Valley region on Texas.
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