Research

Vaginal microbiome during topical artesunate treatment for CIN2/3

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Lab
McKinnon Lab, University of Manitoba
Period
2024 — Present
Role
Microbiome bioinformatics & statistical analysis
Collaborators
Dr Chemtai Mungo, UNC College of Medicine (Chapel Hill, NC, USA)
Methods
16S rRNA amplicon sequencing · Longitudinal analysis · DNA extraction · R

Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2/3 is the precancerous lesion that sits between a persistent HPV infection and cervical cancer. Standard treatment is excisional, which is difficult to deliver where it is needed most. Topical artesunate is being investigated as a self-administered alternative.

This collaborative project asks what happens to the vaginal microbiome across that treatment, in women living with HIV — a group at substantially elevated risk of progression.

What I do on it

I conduct the vaginal microbiome bioinformatic and statistical analyses for the longitudinal cohort, and contributed to DNA extraction and microbiome data processing.

One manuscript is in preparation.