Research Summary

I am the founder and chair of the HPV Working Group of the NCI AIDS Malignancy Consortium and the head of the AMC HPV Virology Core Lab. I have extensive experience in studying the molecular biology of HPV infection in HIV-positive men and women and in the design and implementation of clinical research trials of HPV-related disease in this population. I am the protocol chair of the ANCHOR study, an eight-year, 15-site NCI/NIH-funded randomized controlled trial designed to determine whether treatment of anal high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions prevents anal cancer in HIV-infected men and women.

As the founder and director of the Anal Neoplasia Clinic, Research and Education Center at UCSF, I oversee training of clinicians from around the world in high-resolution anoscopy, anal biopsy, and office-based treatment. I have an active international research program, including currently active studies in India, Costa Rica and Thailand. I have published over 275 papers and am the PI on several laboratory-based and clinical research studies of HPV-associated neoplasia, particularly in the setting of HIV infection.

I am currently the president of the International Papillomavirus Society and the founder and immediate past president of the International Anal Neoplasia Society. I have been the leader of the UCSF Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Clinical Research Fellowship Program for medical students since 2001; since 2006, I have led a T32 program devoted to training pre-doctoral students in clinical and translational research. These year-out programs provide support for an intensive year of coursework and project-oriented research with the goal of stimulating pre-doctoral students to pursue further training and careers in clinical and translational research.

Research Funding

  • August 1, 2019 - July 31, 2024 - California-Mexico-Puerto Rico Partnership (CAMPO) Center for Prevention of HPV-related Cancer in HIV+ Populations , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: U54CA242646
  • August 1, 2016 - July 31, 2022 - (PQ4) Anal HPV infection and anal HSIL among HIV-infected MSM aged 50+ years , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA206477
  • June 1, 2017 - May 31, 2020 - New therapeutic HPV vaccines for HIV infected men and women , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA217715
  • January 13, 2017 - December 31, 2019 - The Microbiome and Anal Cancer Pathogenesis in HIV-infected Men who have Sex with Men , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R03CA203589

Education

McGill University, Montreal, Canada, M.D.,C.M., 1980, Medicine
Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal, Canada, F.R.C.P(C), 1984, Internal Medicine
Stanford University, Stanford, CA, D.A.B.I.M. (Infec Dis), 1989, Medical Microbiology/Infectious Disease

Honors & Awards

  • 1976
    University Scholarship McGill University
  • 1985
    Medical Research Council of Canada Fellowship Medical Research Council of Canada
  • 1988
    American Social Health Association Fellowship American Social Health Association
  • 2003
    Elected to American Society for Clinical Investigation
  • 2005
    Award for excellence in small group instruction, UCSF
  • 2006, 2012
    Award of Merit American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology
  • 2008
    Award for excellence in small group instruction, UCSF
  • 2011
    Fieldhouse-Myers Oration Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
  • 2012
    Top Doctor (US News and World Report) (Infectious Diseases)
  • 2013
    America's Top Doctor, Castle and Connelly
  • 2013
    Super Doctor, San Francisco Chronicle Sunday Magazine
  • 2014
    Elected Member American Association of Physicians

Selected Publications

  1. Faber MT, Frederiksen K, Palefsky JM, Kjaer SK. A nationwide longitudinal study on risk factors for progression of anal intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 to anal cancer. Int J Cancer. 2022 Jun 03.  View on PubMed
  2. Barroso LF, Stier EA, Hillman R, Palefsky J. Anal Cancer Screening and Prevention: Summary of Evidence Reviewed for the 2021 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Sexually Transmitted Infection Guidelines. Clin Infect Dis. 2022 Apr 13; 74(Supplement_2):S179-S192.  View on PubMed
  3. Tota JE, Giuliano AR, Goldstone SE, Dubin B, Saah A, Luxembourg A, Velicer C, Palefsky JM. Anogenital Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Infection, Seroprevalence, and Risk Factors for HPV Seropositivity Among Sexually Active Men Enrolled in a Global HPV Vaccine Trial. Clin Infect Dis. 2022 04 09; 74(7):1247-1256.  View on PubMed
  4. Nowak RG, Bentzen SM, Schumaker LM, Ambulos NP, Ndembi N, Dauda W, Mitchell A, Mathias TJ, Crowell TA, Baral SD, Blattner WA, Charurat ME, Palefsky JM, Cullen KJ, TRUST/RV368 Study Group. Evaluating the Jaccard Similarity Index as a Persistence Measure of Multiple Anal Human Papillomavirus Among Nigerian Men Who Have Sex With Men. Sex Transm Dis. 2022 04 01; 49(4):297-303.  View on PubMed
  5. Wei F, Xia N, Ocampo R, Goodman MT, Hessol NA, Grinsztejn B, Ortiz AP, Zhao F, Kojic EM, Kaul R, Heard I, Morhason Bello IO, Moscicki AB, de Pokomandy A, Palefsky JM, Rodrigues LLS, Mandishora RSD, Ramautarsing RA, Franceschi S, Godbole SV, Tso FK, Menezes LJ, Lin C, Clifford GM. Age-specific prevalence of anal and cervical HPV infection and high-grade lesions in 11 177 women by HIV status: a collaborative pooled analysis of 26 studies. J Infect Dis. 2022 Mar 23.  View on PubMed
  6. Lee JY, Lensing SY, Berry-Lawhorn JM, Jay N, Darragh TM, Goldstone SE, Wilkin TJ, Stier EA, Einstein M, Pugliese JC, Palefsky JM, ANCHOR Investigators. Design of the ANal Cancer/HSIL Outcomes Research study (ANCHOR study): A randomized study to prevent anal cancer among persons living with HIV. Contemp Clin Trials. 2022 02; 113:106679.  View on PubMed
  7. Goldstone SE, Giuliano AR, Palefsky JM, Lazcano-Ponce E, Penny ME, Cabello RE, Moreira ED, Baraldi E, Jessen H, Ferenczy A, Kurman R, Ronnett BM, Stoler MH, Bautista O, Das R, Group T, Luxembourg A, Zhou HJ, Saah A. Efficacy, immunogenicity, and safety of a quadrivalent HPV vaccine in men: results of an open-label, long-term extension of a randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial. Lancet Infect Dis. 2022 03; 22(3):413-425.  View on PubMed
  8. Munyaneza A, Adedimeji A, Kim HY, Shi Q, Hoover DR, Ross J, Murchison L, Murenzi G, Kabahizi J, Gasana J, Nsengiyumva B, Kubwimana G, Kanyabwisha F, Muhoza B, Ingabire C, Mutesa L, Castle PE, Palefsky JM, Anastos K, Patel VV. Awareness and Willingness to Use HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Rwanda: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Survey. J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care. 2021 Nov-Dec 01; 32(6):693-700.  View on PubMed
  9. Palefsky JM, Lensing SY, Belzer M, Lee J, Gaur AH, Mayer K, Futterman D, Stier EA, Paul ME, Chiao EY, Reirden D, Goldstone SE, Tirado M, Cachay ER, Barroso LF, Da Costa M, Darragh TM, Rudy BJ, Wilson CM, Kahn JA. High Prevalence of Anal High-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions, and Prevention Through Human Papillomavirus Vaccination, in Young Men Who Have Sex With Men Living With Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Clin Infect Dis. 2021 10 20; 73(8):1388-1396.  View on PubMed
  10. Hernandez AL, Karthik R, Sivasubramanian M, Raghavendran A, Lensing S, Lee JY, Abraham P, Mathai D, Palefsky JM. Prevalence of oral human papillomavirus infection among Indian HIV-positive men who have sex with men: a cross-sectional study. BMC Infect Dis. 2021 Jul 12; 21(1):675.  View on PubMed
  11. Larsen HK, Hædersdal M, Thomsen LT, Hertzum-Larsen R, Lok TT, Bonde J, Sørensen SS, Hansen JM, Palefsky JM, Kjær SK. Risk of Anal High-grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions Among Renal Transplant Recipients Compared With Immunocompetent Controls. Clin Infect Dis. 2021 07 01; 73(1):21-29.  View on PubMed
  12. Ellsworth GB, Stier EA, Chiao EY, Lensing SY, Darragh T, Jay N, Berry-Lawhorn JM, Einstein M, Barroso LF, Cranston RD, Levine R, Guiot HM, French AL, Goldstone SE, Preiser W, Claassen M, Palefsky JM, Wilkin TJ, AIDS Malignancy Consortium. Xpert HPV as a Screening Tool for Anal Histologic High-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions in Women Living With HIV. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2021 07 01; 87(3):978-984.  View on PubMed
  13. Isaguliants M, Nosik M, Karlsen A, Petrakova N, Enaeva M, Lebedeva N, Podchufarova D, Laga V, Gromov K, Nazarov A, Chowdhury S, Sinitsyn M, Sobkin A, Chistyakova N, Aleshina S, Grabarnik A, Palefsky JM. Prevalence and Risk Factors of Infection with High Risk Human Papilloma Viruses among HIV-Positive Women with Clinical Manifestations of Tuberculosis in a Middle-Income Country. Biomedicines. 2021 Jun 16; 9(6).  View on PubMed
  14. Palefsky JM, Poongulali S, Lensing S, Lee J, Da Costa M, Chein A, Beulah F, Murugavel KG, Kumarasamy N. AIDS Malignancy Consortium 054: Safety and Immunogenicity of the Quadrivalent Vaccine in Indian Women Living With HIV. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2021 06 01; 87(2):875-881.  View on PubMed
  15. Strickler HD, Keller MJ, Hessol NA, Eltoum IE, Einstein MH, Castle PE, Massad LS, Flowers L, Rahangdale L, Atrio JM, Ramirez C, Minkoff H, Adimora AA, Ofotokun I, Colie C, Huchko MJ, Fischl M, Wright R, D'Souza G, Leider J, Diaz O, Sanchez-Keeland L, Shrestha S, Xie X, Xue X, Anastos K, Palefsky JM, Burk RD. Primary HPV and Molecular Cervical Cancer Screening in US Women Living With Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Clin Infect Dis. 2021 05 04; 72(9):1529-1537.  View on PubMed
  16. Dube Mandishora RS, Rounge TB, Fitzpatrick M, Christiansen IK, Ambur OH, Lagström S, Stray-Pedersen B, Tommasino M, Palefsky J, Chirenje ZM. Self-collected and clinician-collected anal swabs show modest agreement for HPV genotyping. PLoS One. 2021; 16(4):e0250426.  View on PubMed
  17. Finneran C, Johnson Peretz J, Blemur D, Palefsky J, Flowers L. "That's Only for Women": The Importance of Educating HIV-Positive Sexual Minority Men on HPV and High Resolution Anoscopy (HRA). J Int Assoc Provid AIDS Care. 2021 Jan-Dec; 20:23259582211016134.  View on PubMed
  18. Chiao EY, Lensing SY, Wiley DJ, Deshmukh AA, Lee J, Darragh TM, Einstein MH, Jay N, Berry-Lawhorn JM, Palefsky JM, Wilkin T, Barroso LF, Cranston RD, Levine R, Guiot HM, French AL, Citron D, Rezaei MK, Goldstone SE, Stier EA. Screening strategies for the detection of anal high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions in women living with HIV. AIDS. 2020 12 01; 34(15):2249-2258.  View on PubMed
  19. Yunihastuti E, Teeratakulpisarn N, Jeo WS, Nilasari H, Rachmadi L, Somia IKA, Sukmawati MDD, Amijaya KAT, Yee IA, Hairunisa N, Hongchookiat P, Trachunthong D, Pankam T, Nonenoy S, Ramautarsing R, Azwa I, Merati TP, Phanuphak P, Phanuphak N, Palefsky JM. Incidence, clearance, persistence and factors related with high-risk anal HPV persistence in South-East Asian MSM and transgender women. AIDS. 2020 11 01; 34(13):1933-1941.  View on PubMed
  20. Murenzi G, Kim HY, Munyaneza A, Tuyisenge P, Zawadi TM, Buteera AM, Adedimeji A, Mutesa L, Castle PE, Anastos K, Palefsky JM. Anogenital Human Papillomavirus and HIV Infection in Rwandan Men Who Have Sex With Men. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2020 08 15; 84(5):463-469.  View on PubMed

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