Dr. Vivian Colon-Lopez returned back to Puerto Rico after completing her doctorate in Epidemiology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Since then, her research focuses on health disparities, primarily among vulnerable and underserved populations. Her R01 titled 'Implementation of School-Entry Policies for Human Papillomavirus Vaccination' is the first ever R01 awarded for the University of Puerto Rico Cancer Center. This study aims to enhance the understanding of geographic variation in HPV vaccine policies and outcomes across US states and territories, while taking advantage of the timely opportunity to study the implementation and impact of the recent school-entry HPV vaccine policy in PR. Dr. Colon-Lopez's findings will also inform other states and territories considering adopting HPV vaccination policies and future implementation of these policies.

Dr. Colon-Lopez became interested in this field of research 10 years ago, as she led a series of NIH R03 Small Grant Programs on anogenital and oral HPV infection in HIV+/HIV- men in Puerto Rico. Her research involvement as a Co-Leader of the Puerto Rico Outreach Program (NCI-funded U54 UPR/MDACC Partnership for Excellence in Cancer Research) also enthused her interest in the use of evidence-based practices for cancer control and implementation research, and, in particular to her recent project, in understanding variation in the success of implementing specific interventions, such as HPV vaccine school-entry.