Activities and Initiatives

Principal Investigator: Dr. Mark Pagel

Title: Improving Breast Cancer Diagnoses in India using Optoacoustic Imaging

Breast cancer is the leading cancer affecting women in India, yet many life-saving imaging tools used in the United States, like MRI, are simply not available or affordable in low- and middle-income countries. This gap means that suspicious breast lesions often go undiagnosed or are misidentified, contributing to higher mortality rates. Dr. Marty Pagel at UW-Madison is working to change that. His team uses Optoacoustic Imaging (OAI), an innovative technique that combines light and sound waves to “see inside” a breast lesion and reveal whether it is cancerous or benign, without the cost or complexity of an MRI. What makes this approach powerful is its ability to measure two things that tell tumors apart: oxygen levels (cancerous tumors tend to be oxygen-depleted) and blood vessel behavior (cancerous tumors have abnormal, leaky vessels). Together, these measurements give doctors a much clearer picture than mammography alone. Through this pilot grant, Dr. Pagel’s lab will partner with the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore to train researchers there in this imaging method, develop new contrast agents to make it even more effective, and build lasting relationships with breast cancer clinics across India — with the goal of bringing this technology to patients who need it most.

Principal Investigator: Shannon O’Reilly

Title: Bridging Health Policy, Prevention and Cancer Care Access in Ghana through Education

In many low-income countries, cancer is often caught too late, not because treatment doesn’t exist, but because communities lack access to clear, trustworthy information about prevention and early detection. Closing that gap starts with education. In Ghana, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women, and most cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage when treatment options are limited. This project aims to change that by creating culturally relevant public education materials that help communities understand cervical cancer, the HPV vaccine, and the importance of early screening. But effective health communication isn’t one-size-fits-all. O’Reilly’s team will first conduct field visits to rural clinics and community organizations, hold in-depth interviews and focus groups, and engage with traditional healers, community health workers, and policymakers to understand what information people need, and how they best receive it. The result will be targeted materials in the right formats, whether that’s videos, flyers, or digital platforms, delivered through the messengers communities already trust. Beyond cervical cancer, this project is designed with the future in mind. The communication framework built here can be adapted for breast cancer, HPV vaccination campaigns, and other health initiatives, both in Ghana and in other resource-limited settings around the world.

Principal Investigator: Robert Striker MD, PhD

Title: Enabling focused surveillance and treatment of cervical dysplasia/Cancer in Ugandan Women without HIV

Cervical cancer is almost entirely preventable, yet it remains one of the deadliest cancers for women worldwide, with 90% of deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. In Uganda, barriers like limited clinic infrastructure, cultural hesitancy around pelvic exams, and gaps in HPV vaccination coverage mean that many women never receive the screening or treatment they need. Dr. Robert Striker’s team is working to change that through a collaborative research and care initiative at the Makerere University-Johns Hopkins University Institute (MUJHUI) in Kampala, Uganda. The project tackles the problem on two fronts. First, the team will acquire portable thermal coagulation devices, simple, affordable tools that allow mid-level health providers to treat precancerous cervical lesions on the spot, without referring patients to a specialist. This is a game-changer in settings where referral systems are unreliable and patients may never make it to a follow-up appointment. The team will also expand outreach beyond Makerere University clinics to reach more women in the community. Second, the project will investigate a largely unexplored question: does a woman’s immune system play a role in whether HPV infection progresses to cancer? The team will collect blood samples to examine immune cell counts and immune resilience, particularly in women living with HIV, who may face higher risk, to better understand who is most vulnerable and why. This pilot lays the groundwork for major NIH and Gates Foundation grants, with the ultimate goal of building a scalable, sustainable model for cervical cancer prevention across Uganda and beyond.

Principal Investigators: Krishanu Saha PhD, Christian Capitini, MD

Title: Biomanufacturing CAR Natural Killer Cell Therapies in Colombia 

India has one of the highest rates of blood cancers in the world, yet some of the most effective treatments remain out of reach for most patients. One such treatment, CAR-T cell therapy, essentially re-engineers a patient’s own immune cells to hunt and destroy cancer. While recently approved by the Indian government, the high cost of manufacturing has made it inaccessible to the majority of patients. Dr. Krisha Saha’s lab is working to change that by making CAR-T therapy simpler, safer, and cheaper to produce, with help from artificial intelligence. Current CAR-T therapies target a protein called CD19, which appears on the surface of most blood cancer cells, making it an ideal bulls-eye for treatment. However, the most commonly used version of this therapy is derived from mouse proteins, which can trigger serious side effects including brain toxicity and dangerous immune overreactions. Switching to fully human-derived components reduces these risks significantly, but redesigning these molecular tools by hand is extraordinarily complex and time-consuming. Dr. Saha’s team proposes to use AI-based design tools to build new, humanized CAR-T components from scratch, streamlining a process that would otherwise require months of specialized expertise. Once validated in the lab, the therapy will be transferred to Bharat Biotech, India’s leading vaccine manufacturer, for scale-up and preparation for clinical trials. If successful, this project could make world-class blood cancer treatment affordable and manufacturable in India, and demonstrate a new AI-powered blueprint for developing next-generation cancer immunotherapies globally.

Principal Investigator: Muhammed Murtaza, MBBS, PhD

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Principal Investigator: Cibele B. Carroll MD, PhD, MPH

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