Research Summary

Dr. George Sawaya is an obstetrician-gynecologist and a professor in Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences and Epidemiology & Biostatistics at UCSF. His main research interest is in cervical cancer screening with particular interest in patient-centered and economic effects of various screening strategies. He has served as an invited expert to CDC and the American Cancer Society.

He is the director of the Colposcopy and Cervical Dysplasia Clinic at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and UCSF. He has received the Academic Senate Distinction in Teaching Award and is a member of the UCSF Academy of Medical Educators. He served as the inaugural Director of the Pathways to Discovery Program in Clinical and Translational Research and currently serves as Director of the UCSF Center for Healthcare Value.

Dr. Sawaya earned a medical degree at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He completed his internship and residency at UCSF and a fellowship in UCSF's Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics. He is a former member of the US Preventive Services Task Force.

Research Funding

  • March 8, 2013 - February 28, 2019 - Using comparative effectiveness analyses to optimize cervical cancer screening , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA169093
  • December 1, 1974 - March 31, 2009 - General Clinical Research Center , Co-Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: M01RR000079
  • August 8, 1997 - July 31, 2002 - CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING IN OLDER WOMEN , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: K08CA074973

Education

Hendrix College, Conway, AR, BA, 1985, Organic Chemistry
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, MD, 1990, Medicine
University of California San Francisco, Fellow, 1994-96, Clinical Research Methods and Biostatistics

Honors & Awards

  • 2003
    Exceptional Education Contributions Award, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, UCSF
  • 2007
    Academic Senate Distinction in Teaching Award, UCSF
  • 2005-2009
    Outstanding Resident Teaching Award, UCSF
  • 2010
    Essential Core Teaching Award: Commitment to Teaching, UCSF Class of 2012

Selected Publications

  1. Chirikova E, Dorismond V, Cortella AM, DeRouen MC, Sawaya GF The impact of age at initial HPV vaccination on cervical cancer screening participation in a nationally representative cohort of women in the United States.  View on PubMed
  2. Hwong AR, Murphy KA, Vittinghoff E, Alonso-Fraire P, Crystal S, Walkup J, Hermida R, Olfson M, Cournos F, Sawaya GF, Mangurian C. Cervical Cancer Screening Among Female Medicaid Beneficiaries With and Without Schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull. 2024 11 08; 50(6):1499-1507.  View on PubMed
  3. Das S, Wentzensen N, Sawaya GF, Egemen D, Locke A, Kinney W, Lorey T, Cheung LC Primary human papillomavirus testing vs cotesting: clinical outcomes in populations with different disease prevalence.  View on PubMed
  4. Zhao R, Sanstead E, Alarid-Escudero F, Huchko M, Silverberg M, Smith-McCune K, Gregorich SE, Leyden W, Kuppermann M, Sawaya GF, Kulasingam S Primary HPV screening compared with other cervical cancer screening strategies in women with HIV: a cost-effectiveness study.  View on PubMed
  5. Gopalani SV, Sawaya GF, Rositch AF, Dasari S, Thompson TD, Mix JM, Saraiya M The impact of adjusting for hysterectomy prevalence on cervical cancer incidence rates and trends among women aged 30 years or older-United States, 2001-2019.  View on PubMed
  6. Holt HK, Martinez G, Reyes MF, Saraiya M, Qin J, Sawaya GF Tubal Sterilization and Cervical Cancer Underscreening in the United States.  View on PubMed
  7. Dorismond VG, Saraiya M, Gopalani SV, Soman A, Kenney K, Miller J, Sawaya GF Variation in cervical cancer screening test utilization and results in a United States-based program.  View on PubMed
  8. Perkins RB, Guido RS, Castle PE, Chelmow D, Einstein MH, Garcia F, Huh WK, Kim JJ, Moscicki AB, Nayar R, Saraiya M, Sawaya GF, Wentzensen N, Schiffman M, 2019 ASCCP Risk-Based Management Consensus Guidelines Committee 2019 ASCCP Risk-Based Management Consensus Guidelines: Updates Through 2023.  View on PubMed
  9. Holt HK, Flores R, James JE, Waters C, Kaplan CP, Peterson CE, Sawaya GF. A qualitative study of primary care clinician's approach to ending cervical cancer screening in older women in the United States. Prev Med Rep. 2023 Dec; 36:102500.  View on PubMed
  10. Sawaya GF, Dorismond VG. Avoiding Low-Value Care and Patient Financial Harm in Cervical Cancer Screening. Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2023 07 05; 16(7):363-364.  View on PubMed
  11. Dorismond VG, Boscardin WJ, Sawaya GF. The association between YouTube use and knowledge of human papillomavirus-related cancers. PEC Innov. 2023 Dec 15; 3:100186.  View on PubMed
  12. Holt HK, Peterson CE, MacLaughlan David S, Abdelaziz A, Sawaya GF, Guadamuz JS, Calip GS. Mediation of Racial and Ethnic Inequities in the Diagnosis of Advanced-Stage Cervical Cancer by Insurance Status. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 03 01; 6(3):e232985.  View on PubMed
  13. Sawaya GF, Saraiya M, Soman A, Gopalani SV, Kenney K, Miller J. Accelerating Cervical Cancer Screening With Human Papillomavirus Genotyping. Am J Prev Med. 2023 04; 64(4):552-555.  View on PubMed
  14. Poncelet A, Collins S, Fiore D, Rosenbluth G, Loeser H, Sawaya GF, Teherani A, Chang A. Identifying Value Factors in Institutional Leaders' Perspectives on Investing in Health Professions Educators. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 02 01; 6(2):e2256193.  View on PubMed
  15. Qin J, Holt HK, Richards TB, Saraiya M, Sawaya GF. Use Trends and Recent Expenditures for Cervical Cancer Screening-Associated Services in Medicare Fee-for-Service Beneficiaries Older Than 65 Years. JAMA Intern Med. 2023 01 01; 183(1):11-20.  View on PubMed
  16. Grubman J, Hawkins M, Whetstone S, Autry M, Lazar A, Sawaya GF, Jacoby V. Emergency department visits and emergency-to-inpatient admissions for abnormal uterine bleeding in the USA nationwide. Emerg Med J. 2023 May; 40(5):326-332.  View on PubMed
  17. Schrier E, Holt HK, Kuppermann M, Sawaya GF. Changing Preferences for a Cervical Cancer Screening Strategy: Moving Away from Annual Testing. Womens Health Rep (New Rochelle). 2022; 3(1):709-717.  View on PubMed
  18. Jacoby VL, Sawaya G. The Swinging Pendulum: Elective Oophorectomy at the Time of Hysterectomy. Obstet Gynecol. 2022 05 01; 139(5):721-723.  View on PubMed
  19. Saraiya M, Colbert J, Bhat GL, Almonte R, Winters DW, Sebastian S, O'Hanlon M, Meadows G, Nosal MR, Richards TB, Michaels M, Townsend JS, Miller JW, Perkins RB, Sawaya GF, Wentzensen N, White MC, Richardson LC. Computable Guidelines and Clinical Decision Support for Cervical Cancer Screening and Management to Improve Outcomes and Health Equity. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2022 04; 31(4):462-468.  View on PubMed
  20. Perkins RB, Guido RS, Castle PE, Chelmow D, Einstein MH, Garcia F, Huh WK, Kim JJ, Moscicki AB, Nayar R, Saraiya M, Sawaya GF, Wentzensen N, Schiffman M, 2019 ASCCP Risk-Based Management Consensus Guidelines Committee. Erratum: 2019 ASCCP Risk-Based Management Consensus Guidelines for Abnormal Cervical Cancer Screening Tests and Cancer Precursors. J Low Genit Tract Dis. 2021 10 01; 25(4):330-331.  View on PubMed

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