HPV vaccine expert to present Bascom Lecture March 12
Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018
MANHATTAN — An obstetrician-gynecologist and HPV vaccine expert from the University of Kansas Medical Center will speak at Kansas State University as part of the Johnson Cancer Research Center's George S. Bascom Memorial Lecture Series on Current Issues in Clinical Medicine.
Kevin Ault has been involved in the development of a vaccine against the cancer-causing human papillomavirus for two decades. He will present "HPV Vaccine: A Missed Opportunity for Cancer Prevention" at 7 p.m. Monday, March 12, in the K-State Student Union's Cottonwood Room. The talk is free and the public is invited.
Ault is a professor and the director of the Division of General Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Kansas School of Medicine. He is also a member of the University of Kansas Cancer Center and Institute for Reproductive Health and Regenerative Medicine. He has published widely in medical journals on the topics of infectious diseases and women's health, including a recent publication in the Lancet about a second-generation HPV vaccine.
Ault has been involved in phase I to IV clinical trials related to HPV prevention and in ongoing NIH-funded research that will examine the long-term immunological responses to HPV vaccination. More recently, he has published research about barriers to vaccination and related public policy
Ault received his medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine in 1988 and did an obstetrics and gynecology residency at the Ohio State University School of Medicine and Public Health. He had an infectious diseases fellowship and was an assistant professor at the University of Kansas between 1992 and 1996. After several years at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, and Emory University, he returned to the University of Kansas in 2014. He is a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and advises the National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Center for Disease Control.
The Bascom Lecture Series, initiated in 1996, brings distinguished experts to Kansas State University to present to faculty, students, medical providers and the general public about challenges faced in clinical medicine and research. It was named in honor of the late George S. Bascom, a respected local surgeon, community leader and poet who served on the Johnson Cancer Research Center's first advisory council.
The Johnson Cancer Research Center supports and advances cancer research and education at Kansas State University. Its programs are made possible by private donations. Information is available at cancer.k-state.edu or by calling 785-532-6705.
