Dr. Gravitt's research interests are primarily focused on the molecular epidemiology and detection/screening for human papillomaviruses (HPV) and cervical cancer. She has developed and validated gold standard PCR-based methods for the detection and quantitation of human papillomaviruses.

Dr. Gravitt is currently involved in several projects in the US and abroad:

1) The Community Access to Cervical Health (CATCH) Study is an evaluation of sustainable cervical cancer screening methods in peri-urban India, in collaboration with Dr. Keerti V. Shah, SHARE India/Mediciti Institute of Medical Sciences and the Center for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics.

2) The HPV in Perimenopause (HIP) Study is being conducted in collaboration with Drs. Anne Burke and Raphael Viscidi at Johns Hopkins Hospital-affiliated clinics in the Baltimore Metropolitan area. The HIP study aims to describe the natural history of genital HPV infection through the menopausal transition.

3) The HPV and hormonal contraceptives study is being conducted in collaboration with Dr. David Celentano (JHSPH). This study of women 18-35 years in Thailand aims to evaluate the effect of combined oral contraceptive and injectable progesterone use on the early natural history of HPV infections.

4) The HPV-aHIV study is being conducted in collaboration with Drs. David Celentano (JHSPH) and Charlie Morrison (FHI). This study aims to evaluate the effect of acute HIV infection on the detectability of cervical HPV.

5) In collaboration with Drs. Ron Gray and Maria Wawer (JHSPH), Dr. Gravitt’s laboratory is investigating the effect of adult male circumcision on HPV prevalence in men participating in a randomized controlled trial in Rakai, Uganda.

Dr. Gravitt also has active collaborations with the basic sciences, including a study of the role of nitric oxide on HPV-associated carcinogenesis with Dr. Michelle Ozbun (UNM) and a study of the immunologic effects of female sex steroid combinations on immune response to HPV VLP in collaboration with Dr. Sabra Klein (JHSPH). Dr. Gravitt’s laboratory works closely with intramural investigators at the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (Drs. Phil Castle, Sophia Wang, Mark Schiffman, Allan Hildesheim, Jill Koshiol, Sandy Dawson, and Phil Taylor), evaluating HPV type and viral load from large cervical cancer screening studies (e.g., Mississippi Delta Project, ALTS, Costa Rica Vaccine Trial) and case-control studies of cervical neoplasia (SUCCEED) and esophageal cancer.

Epidemiology,human papillomavirus; cervical cancer; molecular epidemiology; misclassification; viral etiology of cancer; pcr

2000 – 02 Cancer Research Training Award Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, EEB, DCEG, NCI, NIH

2002-3 Ho-Ching Yang Memorial Faculty Fellowship in Cancer Prevention

1: Phelan DF, Gange SJ, Ahdieh-Grant L, Mehta SH, Kirk GD, Shah K, Gravitt P. Determinants of Newly Detected Human Papillomavirus Infection in HIV-Infected and HIV-Uninfected Injection Drug Using Women. Sex Transm Dis. 2009 Jan 23. [Epub ahead of print]

2: Trimble CL, Peng S, Kos F, Gravitt P, Viscidi R, Sugar E, Pardoll D, Wu TC. A phase I trial of a human papillomavirus DNA vaccine for HPV16+ cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2/3. Clin Cancer Res. 2009 Jan 1;15(1):361-7.

3: Lin Z, Yemelyanova AV, Gambhira R, Jagu S, Meyers C, Kirnbauer R, Ronnett BM, Gravitt PE, Roden RB. Expression pattern and subcellular localization of human papillomavirus minor capsid protein L2.

Am J Pathol. 2009 Jan;174(1):136-43. Epub 2008 Dec 18.

4: Yu KJ, Hsu WL, Chiang CJ, Cheng YJ, Pfeiffer RM, Diehl SR, Goldstein AM, Gravitt PE, Chen CJ, Hildesheim A. Cancer patterns in nasopharyngeal carcinoma multiplex families in Taiwan. Int J Cancer. 2009 Apr 1;124(7):1622-5.

5: Marks M, Gupta SB, Liaw KL, Kim E, Tadesse A, Coutlee F, Sriplienchan S, Celentano DD, Gravitt PE. Confirmation and quantitation of human papillomavirus type 52 by Roche Linear Array((c)) using HPV52-specific TaqMan((c)) E6/E7 quantitative real-time PCR. J Virol Methods. 2008 Dec 5. [Epub ahead of print]

6: Sankaranarayanan R, Bhatla N, Gravitt PE, Basu P, Esmy PO, Ashrafunnessa KS, Ariyaratne Y, Shah A, Nene BM. Human papillomavirus infection and cervical cancer prevention in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Vaccine. 2008 Aug 19;26 Suppl 12:M43-52. Review.

7: Gravitt PE, Coutlée F, Iftner T, Sellors JW, Quint WG, Wheeler CM. New technologies in cervical cancer screening. Vaccine. 2008 Aug 19;26 Suppl 10:K42-52. Review.

8: Ronnett BM, Yemelyanova AV, Vang R, Gilks CB, Miller D, Gravitt PE, Kurman RJ. Endocervical adenocarcinomas with ovarian metastases: analysis of 29 cases with emphasis on minimally invasive cervical tumors and the ability of the metastases to simulate primary ovarian neoplasms. Am J Surg Pathol. 2008 Dec;32(12):1835-53.

9: Castle PE, Porras C, Quint WG, Rodriguez AC, Schiffman M, Gravitt PE, González P, Katki HA, Silva S, Freer E, Van Doorn LJ, Jiménez S, Herrero R, Hildesheim A; CVT Group. Comparison of two PCR-based human papillomavirus genotyping methods. J Clin Microbiol. 2008 Oct;46(10):3437-45. Epub 2008 Aug 20.

10: Bhatla N, Dar L, Rajkumar Patro A, Kumar P, Pati SK, Kriplani A, Gulati A, Broor S, Iyer VK, Mathur S, Shah KV, Gravitt PE. Human papillomavirus-type distribution in women with and without cervical

neoplasia in north India. Int J Gynecol Pathol. 2008 Jul;27(3):426-30.

11: Castle PE, Solomon D, Wheeler CM, Gravitt PE, Wacholder S, Schiffman M. Human papillomavirus genotype specificity of hybrid capture 2. J Clin Microbiol. 2008 Aug;46(8):2595-604. Epub 2008 Jun 25.

12: Safaeian M, Kiddugavu M, Gravitt PE, Gange SJ, Ssekasanvu J, Murokora D, Sklar M, Serwadda D, Wawer MJ, Shah KV, Gray R.

Determinants of incidence and clearance of high-risk human papillomavirus infections in rural Rakai, Uganda. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2008 Jun;17(6):1300-7.

13: Gravitt PE, Schiffman M, Solomon D, Wheeler CM, Castle PE. A comparison of linear array and hybrid capture 2 for detection of carcinogenic human papillomavirus and cervical precancer in ASCUS-LSIL triage study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2008 May;17(5):1248-54.

14: Hoory T, Monie A, Gravitt P, Wu TC. Molecular epidemiology of human papillomavirus. J Formos Med Assoc. 2008 Mar;107(3):198-217. Review.

15: Safaeian M, Kiddugavu M, Gravitt PE, Gange SJ, Ssekasanvu J, Murokora D, Sklar M, Serwadda D, Wawer MJ, Shah KV, Gray R. Prevalence and risk factors for carcinogenic human papillomavirus infections in

rural Rakai, Uganda. Sex Transm Infect. 2008 Aug;84(4):306-11. Epub 2008 Apr 2.

16: Castle PE, Cox JT, Jeronimo J, Solomon D, Wheeler CM, Gravitt PE, Schiffman M. An analysis of high-risk human papillomavirus DNA-negative cervical precancers in the ASCUS-LSIL Triage Study (ALTS). Obstet Gynecol. 2008 Apr;111(4):847-56.

17: Ferreccio C, Corvalán A, Margozzini P, Viviani P, González C, Aguilera X, Gravitt PE. Baseline assessment of prevalence and geographical distribution of HPV types in Chile using self-collected vaginal samples. BMC Public Health. 2008 Feb 28;8:78.

18: Roden RB, Gravitt P, Wu TC. Towards global prevention of human papillomavirus-induced cancer. Eur J Immunol. 2008 Feb;38(2):323-6. Review. No abstract available.

19: Wongworapat K, Keawvichit R, Sirirojn B, Dokuta S, Ruangyuttikarn C, Sriplienchan S, Sontirat A, Kla KT, Gravitt PE, Celentano DD. Detection of human papillomavirus from self-collected vaginal samples of women in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Sex Transm Dis. 2008 Feb;35(2):172-3.

20: Kahn SL, Ronnett BM, Gravitt PE, Gustafson KS. Quantitative methylation-specific PCR for the detection of aberrant DNA methylation in liquid-based Pap tests. Cancer. 2008 Feb 25;114(1):57-64.