Edward Pavlik, PhD
Connect
859-323-3830edward.pavlik@uky.edu
Positions
- Professor
- Director, Ovarian Screening Research Program & Gyn Oncology Research (https://ukhealthcare.uky.edu/markey-cancer-center/patient-care/cancer-screening-program/ovarian)
- Organizing Editor: In The Know, GYN ONC Literature of Significance (https://edu360.igcs.org/Public/Catalog/Details.aspx?id=hMVo06G4EjPlRWzmCTI%2fbg%3d%3d)
College Unit(s)
Other Affiliation(s)
- Gynecologic Oncology
Biography and Education
Biography
Education
Dr. Pavlik is a graduate of the University of Denver, and received his PhD from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He received a NCI Public Health Service Fellowship at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, Illinois and was a Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. He is an active lecturer in the College of Medicine and organizes and mentors summer intern research including students from Denison University, Penn State University, Transylvania University, Centre College, Vassar College, the University of North Carolina, Eastern Kentucky University, Depauw University, Union College and the University of Kentucky. He is a member of the Graduate College and serves on dissertation committees for the PhD degree. Dr. Pavlik is an author on over 100 peer reviewed publications, has presented at a number of prestigious international conferences, and has been funded by the NCI, the ACS and the VA. His research focus is on ovarian cancer screening and factors that affect screening accuracy and performance. Dr. Pavlik is a member of the editorial board for: the British Journal of Medicine and Medical Research, Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, the Journal of Medical Oncology, the Imaging Journal of Clinical and Medical Sciences, Gynecology and Obstetrics Research, Journal of Cancer Metastasis and Treatment, Women's Health International, Clinics in Oncology- Gynecological Cancers.
Video on ovarian abnormalities
Dr. Pavlik lectures on breast, colorectal, prostate, cervical and ovarian cancer screening in PHA/MI/MED616, Biology and Therapy of Cancer (3 lecture hrs; 3-6 credits as approved for individual departments). These lectures give a snapshot view of various screening approaches for different cancers and provide greater educational depth to trainees in nanotechnology methods of application.
Dr. Pavlik prepares and distributes In The Know, a monthly compilation of the latest significant literature in Gynecologic Oncology for the GYN ONC fellows which also gets distributed nationally and internationally. Requests to be on the email list to receive In The Know can be sent to him at epaul1@uky.edu
Research
Selected Publications
Research
The University of Kentucky Ovarian Screening Program provides the base for research by Gynecologic Oncology fellows, for Ob/GYN residents, for Summer Undergraduate Interns and for second year Medical Students taking Dr. Pavlik’s College of Medicine elective (OBG 825 001, Obstetrics & Gynecology Elective: Ovarian Cancer Research (3 credit hrs).
The University of Kentucky's Ovarian Screening Program is the largest and longest operating ovarian screening program in the United States. It has been in continuous operation since 1987. It is conducting the only ovarian cancer screening trial in the six states contiguous with Kentucky (Tennessee, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, West Virginia and Virginia). During the years 1987-2019, 48000+ women have received at least one TVS sonographic screening test with a total of over 320,000 free screens given. About 100+ new participants join the screening program each month and ~15,000 screens are given annually. In February 2003, The University of Kentucky Ovarian Screening Program began an Outreach Effort that offers screening in Health Departments in Maysville, Prestonsburg, Elizabethtown, Paducah, and Somerset. Women from all 120 Kentucky counties participate in the screening program.
Current Research Goals of the Screening Program:
- To prospectively evaluate the false positive (FP) rate of the screening algorithm for distinguishing benign ovarian structures from ovarian malignancies.
- To assess the degree to which serial transvaginal ultrasonography identifies the fallopian tubes and changes in size and structure of the fallopian tubes.
- To assess the degree to which serial transvaginal ultrasonography revises a single ultrasound by comparisons of subsequent ultrasonography to the initial abnormal sonography and defining the rate of resolution.
- To assess the effect of serial transvaginal ultrasonography on the discovery of early stage disease regionally and state-wide and to determine if improvements in disease specific mortality occur as evidenced by lower deaths due to ovarian cancer in regions where screening participation is highest.
- To assess the cost-effectiveness of ovarian screening and to examine risk of medical complications arising in the screening program.
- To examine perceptions of well-being due to participation in ovarian cancer screening.
- To determine the co-factors that contribute to successful annual ultrasound screening for ovarian cancer in a asymptomatic population.
- To assess the expression & molecular signatures of STIC (serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma) in serous carcinomas of the ovary, fallopian tube and endometrium.