Lasting Legacies – Women’s health research

The College of Medicine has a rich history of research related to women’s health. Many of these research projects were led by women.

Mary K. Howett, PhD

Mary K. Howett, PhD

Howett, in partnership with Dr. John Kreider, led a team of researchers that perfected a technique for propagating the human papillomavirus (HPV) – the primary cause of cervical cancer. Their work was funded by the Jake Gittlen Cancer Research Foundation and helped lead to vaccines against HPV. The first received approval from the Food and Drug Administration in 2006.

Carol Weisman, PhD and Cynthia Chuang, MSc, MD

Today, women like Weisman and Chuang are researching family planning, contraceptive decision-making and factors at the individual and community levels that affect access to reproductive health care.

Carol Weisman, PhD

Cynthia Chuang, MSc, MD

Rebecca Phaëton, MD, Nadine Hempel, PhD and Katherine Aird, PhD

This group of women started the Penn State Gynecological Malignancies Group, a team of research scientists and physicians who are working towards a better understanding of ovarian cancer.

Rebecca Phaëton, MD

Nadine Hempel, PhD

Katherine Aird, PhD

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