Harnessing the power of the vaginal microbiome to combat Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infections and related diseases

Although Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines have reduced many infections caused by HPV, the infection rate is still surging due to many oncogenic HPV types that are not covered by existing vaccines.

Seeing as persistent HPV infection is the primary contributor to HPV-related cancers, treatments to assist HPV clearance are urgently needed. The genital areas are common bacterial niches and represent target regions for HPV infection.

I aim to profile the vaginal microbiome during cervical cancer development and anti-cancer therapy by longitudinal sampling.

In addition, potential mechanisms for HPV interference and clearance will be tested and further validated via three-dimensional (3D) models with cells or tissues obtained from the clinic.

This project will be carried out at Karolinska Institutet within the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology. Clinical samples (Aim 1) will be collected during the first year, with sequencing and analysis performed afterwards.

Mechanism studies (Aim 2) will be carried out using cell lines in conjunction with clinical sample collection and sequencing. The 3D validation (Aim 3) will be performed once candidates are found.

In summary, the proposed project involves the study of complex interactions between HPV and bacteria with human cells/tissues.

My aim is to find commensal bacteria/probiotics that can be used either as a standalone treatment, or in combination with other therapies for vaginosis, HPV infection, or related diseases.