Kostas-Polston is recognized by interdisciplinary colleagues as an expert as evidenced, for example, by national and international invitations to present at the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) 2018 National Conference, the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology’s (USCAP) 2015 Annual International Meeting, and the 2015 Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) 26th International Nursing Research Congress. Each task force produced recommendations for significant national and international clinical practice changes for cervical cancer screening, treatment, and management. Kostas-Polston served as Invited Scientific Delegate on three American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP) task forces two of which were co-sponsored by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSF) and American Cancer Society (ACS). Committed to reducing HPV-related cancer morbidity and mortality, Dr. One major fundamental practice change was to support the use of HPV vaccines in males.
Kostas-Polston’s sustained commitment to improving sexual and reproductive health led to the creation of an innovative body of knowledge regarding Human Papillomavirus (HPV) oropharyngeal (OP) cancer screening, detection, and prevention (HPV vaccination) leading to improved clinical practice outcomes. Specifically, her research goals include: 1) exploring the impact of availability and access to water and sanitation resources in austere environments on military women's personal hygiene practices and associated risk for developing urogenital infections 2) educating parents and school-aged children and adolescents about HPV infection and disease burden health promotion (behavioral risk factor reduction) and prevention (HPV vaccination) strategies 3) developing tools for the detection of persistent HPV infection of the oropharynx and 4) identifying strategies which may be used to inhibit the oncogenic activity of high-risk HPV genotypes.ĭr. Kostas-Polston’s scholarship is focused on: 1) military women's health and readiness and 2) the development of health promotion and disease prevention strategies, evidence-based clinical guidelines, and policy focused on HPV-related cancer prevention and 3) assuring the effective translation of knowledge for new approaches related to health promotion and disease prevention and diagnosis, treatment, and management of HPV-associated cancers. Kostas-Polston’s national and international leadership in research, practice, and policy occur at the intersection of her roles as scholar, scientist, and Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner. Summer Genetics Institute, Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA) Bethesda, Maryland.Ģ007 Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Nursing Research Loyola University Chicago Chicago, Illinois.ġ997 Postgraduate Colposcopy Training MD Anderson Cancer Center, The University of Texas Houston, Texas.ġ996 Master of Science, Nursing (MSN) Specialty in Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Primary Care of Women The University of Florida Gainesville, Florida.ġ985 Bachelor of Science, Nursing (BSN) Arizona State University Tempe, Arizona.ĭr. 2009 Postdoctoral Training, Human Molecular Genetics, Genomics, & Molecular Biology National Institutes of Health (NIH) / National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)