Our Vision
Eliminate HPV-associated cancers in the state of Alabama through education and advocacy, reducing the high social, emotional, economic and medical costs associated with this disease. Our state will serve as a model to the rest of the nation, bringing our cancer rates from the top 10 to the lower tier.
Our goal
We are committed to increasing HPV vaccination completion rates by 10% in Alabama females and males, ages 9-13 years old.
OUR PROGRAMS
VAX 2 STOP CANCER trains pediatric and family medicine providers in Alabama to improve their HPV vaccination rate. Since our launch in 2020, we have trained 350 healthcare providers and staff, from 84 practices, in 31 Alabama counties with our provider education program titled Preventing HPV Associated Cancers Through Effective Provider Education. In the training, providers learn the most effective method for HPV vaccine recommendation, research-tested messaging to counsel hesitant parents, and strategies to decrease missed opportunities to give the vaccine.
VAX 2 STOP CANCER also has a dental provider education program The online program trains dentists, pediatric dentists, and hygienists on recommending the HPV vaccine to their 9-26 year old patients. Oropharyngeal cancer is now the most frequently diagnosed HPV-associated cancer, surpassing cervical cancer diagnoses. HPV causes 14,800 cases of oropharyngeal cancer each year in the US. The HPV vaccine recommendation is critical to preventing oropharyngeal cancer and all HPV cancers.
Both of these programs utilize methods endorsed by the National Cancer Institute and materials from the University of North Carolina and the National HPV Vaccination Roundtable.
We also educate parents, adolescents, and the general public on the safety, efficacy, and importance of the HPV vaccine through our digital media programs on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and TikTok.
OUR IMPACT
Our 12-month data results showed an average 10% increase in 9 to 13-year-olds who are up to date on the HPV vaccine. We are protecting the next generation from HPV-associated cancers!
Our people
Staff
Board of Directors
Chair
Stuart A. Lockwood, DMD, MPH
Retired State Dental Officer, Alabama Department of Public Health
Adjunct Assistant Professor, UAB School of Dentistry
Member, Alabama State Committee for Public Health
Member, Alabama Rural Health Association Board of Directors
Vice-Chair
Ginna White
Department Manager, Healthcare Networks
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama
Secretary/Treasurer
Philip Bryan
Partner
Swatek, Vaughn & Bryan
Tamera Coyne-Beasley, MD, MPH, FAAP, FSAHM
Derrol Dawkins, MD Endowed Chair in Adolescent Medicine
Professor of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine
Division Director, UAB Adolescent Medicine
Vice Chair, Pediatrics for Community Engagement
Past President, Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine
Casey L. Daniel, Ph.D., MPH
Director of Epidemiology and Public Health
Asst. Professor USA College of Medicine
USA Mitchell Cancer Institute
Leigh Anne Hodge
Partner
Bradley
Coty Hulgan, DMD, MPH
Periodontist, Private Practice
Adjunct Professor, Department of Periodontology | UAB School of Dentistry
Mallie Ireland
Community Volunteer
William H. Johnston MD, FAAP
Pediatrician, Retired
Terrance Moultrie
Municipal Sales Manager, Lighting Services
Alabama Power
Jennifer Young Pierce, MD, MPH
Professor Interdisciplinary Clinical Oncology
Senior Staff Physician, Gynecologic Oncology
Abraham A. Mitchell Clinical Cancer Research Scholar
Program Leader, Cancer Control and Prevention
USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute
Tracie Richter
Cervivor Ambassador
Recurrent Cervical Cancer Survivor and Patient Advocate
Caroline Beitel Taylor, DMD, MS
Pediatric Dentist, Beitel Pediatric Dentistry
Business Advisor
Bob Crutchfield
Managing Director, Hotspot Ventures, LLC
Scientific Advisors
Heather M. Brandt, PhD
Director, HPV Cancer Prevention Program
Co-associate Director for Outreach, St. Jude Comprehensive Cancer Center
Member, Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control
Martin J. Heslin, MD, MSHA
Professor and Director, USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute
Abraham Mitchell Chair in Oncology
Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, FASTMH, FAAP
Dean, National School of Tropical Medicine
Professor, Pediatrics and Molecular & Virology and Microbiology
Co-Head, Section of Pediatric Tropical Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine
Warner K. Huh, MD, FACOG, FACS
Chair, Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology
Senior Medical Officer, UAB Cancer Service Line
Margaret Cameron Spain Endowed Chair in Obstetrics/Gynecology
Professor, Departments of Obstetrics/Gynecology and Surgery
Professor, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health
UAB | The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Michael S. Saag, MD
Associate Dean for Global Health
Professor of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Partners
