HPV-related cancer prevention is focus at Rice’s Baker Institute Dec. 2

MEDIA ADVISORY

Jeff Falk
jfalk@rice.edu
713-348-6775

HPV-related cancer prevention is focus at Rice’s Baker Institute Dec. 2

HOUSTON – (Nov. 28, 2016) – Leaders from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Texas state government and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center will gather at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy Dec. 2 to discuss ways to combat human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers in the state.

This event is part of the Medicine, Research and Society Policy Issues Series, a joint project of the Baker Institute Center for Health and Biosciences and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. It is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Who: Panelists Melinda Wharton, director of the Immunization Services Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, at the CDC; Imelda Garcia, director of the Infectious Disease Prevention Section at the Texas Department of State Health Services; and Lois Ramondetta, professor of gynecologic oncology at MD Anderson and chief of the Gynecologic Oncology Division at Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital.

Kirstin Matthews, fellow in science and technology policy at the Baker Institute, and Ronald DePinho, president of MD Anderson Cancer Center, will give introductory remarks.

What: A panel on “HPV-Related Cancers: Opportunities for Cancer Prevention.”

When: 8-9:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 2. (Breakfast will be served at 7:30.)

Where: Rice University, Baker Hall, Doré Commons, 6100 Main St.

In the United States, 79 million men and women — approximately one in four people — are currently infected with HPV. From 2008 to 2012, nearly 40,000 HPV-related cancers occurred annually in the U.S. Today highly effective HPV vaccines could easily reduce these numbers, but only 42 percent of girls and 28 percent of boys of ages 13 to 17 have received the vaccine — far below the 80 percent of American adolescents the CDC aims to reach. At this event, the panelists will discuss HPV, HPV-associated cancers, life-saving cancer prevention opportunities through HPV vaccination, barriers to HPV vaccination programs and a proposed plan to promote HPV vaccination in Texas.

The public must register to attend this event at www.bakerinstitute.org/events/1829.
A live webcast of the event will be available at the registration page.

Members of the news media who want to attend should RSVP to Jeff Falk, associate director of national media relations at Rice, at jfalk@rice.edu or 713-348-6775.

For a map of Rice University’s campus with parking information, go to www.rice.edu/maps. Media are advised to park in the Central Campus Garage.

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Founded in 1993, Rice University’s Baker Institute ranks among the top five university-affiliated think tanks in the world. As a premier nonpartisan think tank, the institute conducts research on domestic and foreign policy issues with the goal of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of public policy. The institute’s strong track record of achievement reflects the work of its endowed fellows, Rice University faculty scholars and staff, coupled with its outreach to the Rice student body through fellow-taught classes — including a public policy course — and student leadership and internship programs. Learn more about the institute at www.bakerinstitute.org or on the institute’s blog, http://blogs.chron.com/bakerblog.