Women & Infants’ Chief of OB/GYN to Chair WHO Committee Meetings on Cervical Cancer
Monday, September 20, 2010
Joanna M. Cain, MD, Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Women & Infants Hospital, was recently asked to chair the World Health Organization (WHO) Steering Committee Meetings on Comprehensive Cervical Cancer Control. The series of meetings - which begin today in Geneva, Switzerland – will completely review and revise the WHO guidance on cervical cancer control, a task last completed in 2006. The work is crucial with the advent of a vaccine for the human papillomavirus (HPV), the cause of cervical cancer, and its potential implementation worldwide.
Global Impact
“This is a critical time in the fight against cervical cancer. With important research resulting in changed prevention tactics, it is vital that the World Health Organization issue updated guidelines for the world to follow,” explained Dr. Cain, who is also the Chace/Joukowsky Professor and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Assistant Dean for Women’s Health Programs at Alpert, and Chief of Gynecology-Obstetrics at Rhode Island Hospital. Dr. Cain was the first woman to chair the International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology (FIGO) Committee for Ethics in Women’s Health, the only international committee of its kind. She also chairs FIGO’s Committee for International Cervical Cancer Prevention.