A portrait of Shalini smiling facing the camera. She wears a light blue shirt with a scoop neck hem. Her curly black hair is resting on the tops of her shoulders.

MCC's Shalini Kulasingam honored for creating a healthier world for women

When the University of Minnesota established an award to honor Regents Professor Emerita Sara Evans, an outstanding scholar and a leader for women's equity and social justice, it had women like School of Public Health professor and Masonic Cancer Center (MCC) researcher Shalini Kulasingam in mind. As the most recent person to receive the Sara Evans Faculty Woman Scholar/Leader Award, the honor recognizes Shalini’s innovative and revolutionary work to prevent cervical cancer across the world.

Scientists discovered the causal link between the human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer in the early 1980s. As a PhD student in the mid-1990s, Shalini’s dissertation was one of the first to explore the role of HPV-based screening for women in the U.S. 

Since then, Shalini has made a name for herself as a world-renowned researcher whose career has been laser-focused on the prevention and control of infectious diseases, particularly cervical cancer prevention through HPV vaccination. Shalini’s research has influenced cervical cancer screening, prevention, and control policies in the U.S. and across the globe. 

What is Shalini’s overarching and guiding hope when it comes to preventing HPV and cervical cancer?

Find out by reading the full story from the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health. 

Join MCC in congratulating Shalini on her research expertise, dedication to teaching and mentoring, and persistent advocacy in helping women across the world lead healthier lives.