HPV and Cervical Health: Facts, Myths, and the Future of Care

Kimberly Levinson, M.D., is an associate professor in the Johns Hopkins Medicine Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Her areas of clinical expertise include minimally invasive surgery with both robotic and single incision laparoscopy, ovarian cancer debulking, cervical cancer and dysplasia.

Dr. Levinson's research interests include health care disparities in gynecologic tumors, cervical cancer prevention and treatment, and surgical innovation. She has published numerous manuscripts in gynecologic oncology involving these and other various research topics. Dr. Levinson is currently a principal investigator in the Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in Cervical Cancer. In addition, she has a strong commitment to education, and she is the assistant director of the Johns Hopkins residency program and the associate director of the Gynecologic Oncology fellowship. Dr. Levinson is a member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Society of Gynecologic Oncology, and the American Medical Association. Dr. Levinson was recognized with a Robert B. Hunt Award for Best Paper Published in the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology in 2014.  

Dr. Cornelia Trimble is a professor in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics. She has joint appointments in the Departments of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Oncology, and Pathology.

Dr. Trimble completed her residency in anatomic pathology at Cornell University Medical Center, followed by a fellowship in gynecologic pathology and a residency in gynecology and obstetrics at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Her clinical interest and expertise is in developing new ways to intercept cancers — treating pre-invasive, cancer precursor lesions — caused by HPV.

Her work has focused on two nonsurgical strategies: (1) immunotherapy via therapeutic HPV vaccination, and (2) repurposing artesunate, a plant-derived compound used to treat malaria, as a topical treatment administered by the patient herself to treat high-grade, intraepithelial HPV lesions. Her work has shown proof-of-principle, that it is indeed possible to eliminate HPV pre-cancers without surgery, and has been recognized internationally.

Dr. Trimble has dedicated herself to delivering cutting-edge care to girls and women who have a very common problem, caused by a very common virus, HPV. She values respect, integrity, quality and compassion in caring for her patients.