“The 2015 earthquake in Nepal was a turning point for me as it deepened my interest in improving healthcare access and outcomes for underserved communities,” reflects Gatha Adhikari, a fifth-year bioengineering PhD student at the [University of Maryland]https://umd.edu/?utm_source=the+cancer+news&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=research+health_equity+cancer_education&utm_content=how-one-ph-d-student-is-bridging-cervical-cancer-research-and-community-impact), as she recalls the beginning of her journey into bioengineering.

Gatha Adhikari

Cervical cancer is considered one of the most preventable cancers due to the effectiveness of HPV vaccination and regular screening through Pap smears and HPV tests. These tests can detect and treat precancerous cells before they develop into cancer. If cervical cancer does occur, several effective treatment options exist depending on the stage and type. However, access to both prevention and treatment remains a significant challenge for those living in low- and middle-income countries.

Gatha’s Journey from Remote Villages to a Cervical Cancer Research Laboratory

Gatha is tackling cervical cancer on both fronts, prevention and treatment, with a focus on accessibility for patients in under-resourced areas. An eye-opening teaching experience in a resource-scarce village shaped her understanding of healthcare inequity and influenced her career path today.

Dolpa District in Nepal, where Gatha experienced the impact of health inequity

“I grew up in a small town in Nepal. After high school, I wanted to contribute to the community, so I volunteered as a teacher in a remote village called Dotharap in the northern Dolpa region. They didn’t have any resources there: no transportation, no electricity, no healthcare. That made me realize I wanted to work for communities like that.”

Now, as a PhD student in the Global Biomedical Devices Laboratory, Gatha is developing cervical cancer treatment solutions specifically designed for resource-limited settings, like the village that first inspired her calling.

Improving Access to Cervical Cancer Treatment

Gatha’s dissertation focuses on “evaluating the efficacy of ethyl cellulose ethanol for cervical dysplasia, or pre-cancer.” The polymer-based ethanol ablation therapy represents a significant improvement over conventional treatments, which require expensive equipment and specialized surgeons.

“Compared to surgery or thermocoagulation, any of those procedures, you need an experienced surgeon present. But this therapy we are working on in the lab requires very few resources. Ethanol, which is readily available even in resource-limited settings, can simply be injected into the lesion area.”

The results are promising. Testing in large animal models showed “efficacy comparable to, and in some cases superior to, thermal coagulation,” while maintaining the low-cost accessibility that could transform cervical cancer treatment in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). She has led and co-authored seven scholarly publications regarding this topic.

Gatha presenting her thesis work at the 2023 Biomedical Engineering Society Annual meeting

Bringing Cervical Cancer Prevention to the Community

Unable to return to Nepal during the pandemic after five years away, Gatha put together a community outreach project from Maryland, coordinating with local networks across time zones during late-night planning meetings.

The summer initiative reached four villages near Pokhara, where “most of these women had never heard about cervical cancer.” Her team conducted awareness camps covering “what cervical cancer is, what the symptoms are, what the preventive measures are, and why young girls need to get vaccinated.”

The impact of her efforts was remarkable.

More than 200 women participated in the awareness programs, while 45 received screenings, seven of whom tested positive and were referred for follow-up care.

Cervical cancer patients receiving follow-up care at the clinic

“We even had a few men who came to listen to those awareness programs. So pretty supportive, I would say,” Gatha notes. At the same time, she acknowledges that “if we go to more remote places, maybe we won’t find people as accepting, especially when it comes to screening,” alluding to the stigma that still surrounds cervical cancer screening.

The Future of Global Health Innovation

As Gatha prepares to graduate, her career trajectory reflects a new model of global health research that prioritizes community partnership alongside scientific innovation.

“The project I did in Nepal was really close to my heart. Being able to connect with the community and see the impact, making a difference as we go, that is the direction I find myself leaning toward at the moment.”

While her ethanol ablation therapy progresses through clinical trials, she is also building sustainable awareness programs with female healthcare volunteers in Nepal. “The treatment we are developing will take time to move through clinical trials,” she explains. “But I have seen back home how great the need for awareness is.”

Gatha aims to extend her cancer awareness community outreach programs beyond cervical cancer: “In the future, I also want to expand my awareness campaigns beyond cervical cancer and into even more remote places,” including villages as isolated as the one where she first taught.

Taking Cervical Cancer Research Beyond the Bench and Into Communities

Gatha’s work demonstrates that cancer advocacy is not limited to physicians and patients. All it takes is a strong desire to shape the trajectory of where and how cancer care is being delivered. And for Gatha, that meant bringing interventions directly to the communities that need them most, thus minimizing cancer disparities. Her story exemplifies that researchers not only work for communities, but also with them. By taking what she has learned at the laboratory bench to village squares, Gatha is modeling how the next generation of global health leaders can create lasting change.

One of the cervical cancer awareness camps at Eklekuna, Lekhnath, Nepal