Rachel Adria Katzenellenbogen, MD
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Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection, affecting more than 75% of the adult population. HPV is categorized as high-risk or low-risk, based on its association with cancer. Through dysregulation of normal cellular function, high-risk HPV blocks signals for DNA damage, programmed cell death, and cellular arrest, all as a part of its viral life cycle. I am studying the mechanism by which high-risk HPV activates telomerase, and enzyme found normally in stem cells and almost categorically activated in cancers, in order to understand how HPV drives cells to become malignant.