Career Fair and Career Events

Title: “A Multiplexed Human Papillomavirus (HPV) 16 and 18 Diagnostic for Cervical Cancer Screening” Committee: Dr. Catherine Klapperich, BU BME – Advisor Dr. Allison Dennis, BU BME – Chair Dr. James Galagan, BU BME Dr. Mario Cabodi, BU BME Dr. Rajan Dewar, University of Michigan Pathology Abstract: Cervical cancer is a major problem in the developing world and low-resource settings where standard screening techniques are not accessible. Cervical cancer is one of the few cancers that can be successfully treated when detected early. Therefore, there exists a high clinical need to screen for cervical cancer early. The etiological agent of cervical cancer is the human papillomavirus (HPV), with 70% of cases related to HPV genotypes 16 and 18. I sought to increase access to screening by developing a fully integrated and multiplexed molecular diagnostic assay to extract, amplify, detect, and distinguish HPV16 and HPV18 DNA on a low-cost paperfluidic platform for point-of-care (POC) applications. Isothermal (one temperature) amplification was used instead of the traditional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) that requires a thermal cycler. The amplified HPV16 and HPV18 DNA were differentially detected on a simple lateral flow strip – similar to that used in a pregnancy test – generating a visible colorimetric readout for each specific genotype. Each assay step – DNA extraction, amplification, and detection – was optimized and integrated into a single chip that can control the timing of each step. Several chip configurations were tested to determine the optimal chip form factor, and a small subset of clinical samples were tested to demonstrate feasibility in low-resource settings. With this diagnostic platform, asymptomatic patients positive for HPV16 and HPV18 can be screened more closely, allocating precious resources to those most at risk, a beneficial use in both low-resource settings and the USA.