Research Sandra Condori

Abstract

Speaking openly about vaginal health is taboo in Peru, and public attention to intimate female care has been neglected for decades. For instance, during the present pandemic, several primary health care centers shut down gynaecological consultations, affecting women suffering from vaginal infections. With the current Laura 2.0 project, we aim to create a national (in Peru) and international research network investigating on vaginal health by actively engaging several key stakeholders from society and academia. Higher education institutions (HEIs) will play a key role in achieving Laura 2.0 aim. Universidad Nacional de la Amazonia Peruana (UNAP) and Universidad Nacional San Agustín de Arequipa (UNSA) are the prominent universities in the Peruvian Amazon and the Highlands regions, respectively. Both HEIs are strengthening their key roles in developing their regions by consolidating their research capacity. The current project will strengthen the national (UNAP-UNSA-UPCH) and international (local partners and UAntwerp) collaboration by actively developing research capacities in a multidisciplinary approach. More importantly involving (for the first time in Peru), citizens (women) in science, via a citizen science project inspired by the Belgian Isala project (https://isala.be/en).

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Lebeer Sarah
• Co-promoter: Brusselaers Nele
• Co-promoter: Condori Sandra
• Co-promoter: Verhoeven Veronique

Research team(s)

• Environmental Ecology & Applied Microbiology (ENdEMIC)

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

In this project we want to tackle the problem of cervical cancer (CC) and its inequitable burden of disease in Ecuador, by designing and implementing a feasible strategy for screening and follow up in remote communities. The project combines 1) research aimed at improving and implementing screening facilities with 2) strategies to promote uptake of screening services and 3) a highly innovative component in the construction of a VIA-telemedicine and AI based tool for automatization of diagnosis of cervical abnormalities. Embedding the activities in existing local services and training female local health workers will lead to a sustainable strategy in which women are not only the main beneficiaries but, by their protagonist role in the project, drivers of change. The project builds on the good results we obtained in our SI project ending in August 2022.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verhoeven Veronique
• Co-promoter: Bogers John-Paul
• Co-promoter: Condori Sandra
• Co-promoter: Philips Hilde

Research team(s)

• Primary and interdisciplinary care Antwerp (ELIZA)

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The human microbiota is composed of a vast number of microorganisms inhabiting different body sites, especially the skin, gut, vagina. For women, the bacteria inhabiting the vaginal tract, specifically Lactobacillus spp. (mainly by L. crispatus, L. iners, L. jensenii, L. gasseri) play a key role in sexual and reproductive health. For instance, a disruption of the vaginal microbiota is associated with a variety of pathogenic disorders, such as bacterial vaginosis (BV), highly prevalent in Peru (estimated to range between 10-37%). Affected women are at increased risk of acquiring more serious infectious agents such as HIV, Chlamydia, Trichomonas, Neisseria. Other complications of BV include preterm premature rupture of membranes and neonatal sepsis. Previously, a healthy vaginal microbiota composition has been defined when high numbers of lactic acid producing lactobacilli were present based on microscopy or culture-based approaches, including pH measurements. Nowadays with the development of culture-independent approaches such as next-generation sequencing (NGS), we know that the vaginal microbiota is not only composed of Lactobacillus species but also of a diverse group of strictly anaerobic bacteria. However, while several of these anaerobic bacteria appear to be associated to disorders such as BV, some might also be linked to health. This is at present not well understood. Based on studies on the gut microbiota, several factors have been described that can influence this microbiota composition, including dietary habits, health status, demographics, environmental factors, and ethnicity. For the vaginal microbiota, this area of research is still largely underexplored. Several studies indicate that ethnicity might also play a key role in shaping the vaginal microbiota. For example, Ravel et al. have observed that African American and Hispanic women have predominantly anaerobic bacteria compared to women from European ancestry (Lactobacillus-dominant). However, most vaginal microbiota studies have been focused on the "Western white woman" so far. Hence, the impact of ethnicity on the vaginal microbiota remains a critical research gap in this field. To overcome various knowledge gaps on the vaginal microbiota, our research group has recently set up a citizen science project named Isala to explore the female microbiota's stability and temporal dynamics in relation to different lifestyle factors and environmental conditions. We also explore the importance of various individual and social risk factors that can influence the "healthy" vaginal microbiota. While we were aiming to recruit 200 volunteers in Flanders at the start of the project in March 2020, we managed to enroll at least 5528 women due to immense success and large amounts of subscriptions (we even had to stop registrations). This massive response from women highlights the need that it is important to understand the vaginal microbiota better, how this microbiota is influenced, and its impact on health. In this present project proposal, we aim to implement the Isala project in Peru to radically increase our insights on the diversity of a "healthy" vaginal microbiota composition and the influence of ethnicity and other possible factors.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Condori Sandra

Research team(s)

• Environmental Ecology & Applied Microbiology (ENdEMIC)

Project type(s)

• Research Project