Megan Justine Huchko

Hollier Family Associate Professor of Global Health

Megan Huchko, MD, MPH, holds a dual appointment as an Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and the Duke Global Health Institute.  Dr. Huchko was an undergraduate at Duke before moving to New York City to complete medical school at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and residency training at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center.  She completed her fellowship in Reproductive Infectious Disease the University of California, San Francisco, and was a faculty member there. 

Dr. Huchko practices as an ob/gyn generalist and specializes in cervical cancer prevention through her clinical work and global women’s health research.  Her research focuses on optimizing the diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer among vulnerable women in settings where health disparities occur. She has been working with the Family AIDS Care and Education Services (FACES) program in the Nyanza Province of western Kenya since 2006.  

She designed and implemented a cervical cancer screening and prevention (CCSP) program for HIV-infected women enrolled in care at FACES.  The CCSP program has provided a clinical resource, as well as a cohort to evaluate the epidemiology of cervical cancer among HIV-infected women, the feasibility of integrating cervical cancer prevention programs into HIV and general outpatient clinics, the safety of various diagnostic and treatment modalities, the efficacy of low-cost/low-resource screening modalities in HIV-infected women and provider and patient-level barriers and facilitators to uptake of cervical cancer prevention activities.  

Currently, she is carrying out several large studies in central Uganda and western Kenya to evaluate the optimal implementation strategy for HPV-based cervical cancer screening in rural settings.  At Duke, she leads the Center of Excellence in Global Women’s Health through the Global Health Institute and serves as Director for the Ob/Gyn Clinical Research Unit (CRU).

Appointments and Affiliations

  • Hollier Family Associate Professor of Global Health
  • Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • Associate Research Professor of Global Health
  • Member of the Duke Cancer Institute

Contact Information

Education

  • B.A. Duke University, 1997
  • M.D. Yeshiva University, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 2002
  • M.P.H. University of California, Berkeley, 2007

Research Interests

Cervical Cancer Prevention; Colposcopy; Human Papillomavirus; Implementation Science; Digital Health

Courses Taught

  • ISS 796T: Bass Connections Information, Society & Culture Research Team
  • ISS 795T: Bass Connections Information, Society & Culture Research Team
  • ISS 396T: Bass Connections Information, Society & Culture Research Team
  • ISS 395T: Bass Connections Information, Society & Culture Research Team
  • GSF 220: Case Studies in Global Sexual and Reproductive Health
  • GLHLTH 791: Independent Study in Global Health
  • GLHLTH 571: Global Maternal and Child Health
  • GLHLTH 393: Research Independent Study in Global Health
  • GLHLTH 393-1: Research Independent Study in Global Health
  • GLHLTH 392: Student Research Training in Global Health
  • GLHLTH 391: Independent Study in Global Health
  • GLHLTH 391-1: Independent Study in Global Health
  • GLHLTH 215: Case Studies in Global Sexual and Reproductive Health
  • GHS 301B: Global Health Study Program

In the News

Representative Publications

  • Choi, Yujung, Saduma Ibrahim, Lawrence P. Park, Elizabeth A. Bukusi, and Megan J. Huchko. “The impact of text message reminders on cryotherapy uptake among women testing positive for HPV in western Kenya: a prospective cohort study.” BMC Womens Health 24, no. 1 (January 13, 2024): 32. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-023-02842-x.
  • Mitchell, Lauren, Bhamini Vellanki, Linda Tang, Kelly Hunter, Amy Finnegan, Jonas J. Swartz, and Megan Huchko. “Contraceptive Provision to Women With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Enrolled in Medicaid.” Obstet Gynecol 142, no. 6 (December 1, 2023): 1477–85. https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0000000000005421.
  • Mitchell, Lauren, Bhamini Vellanki, Linda Tang, Kelly Hunter, Amy Finnegan, Jonas J. Swartz, and Megan Huchko. “Contraceptive Provision to Women With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Enrolled in Medicaid.” Obstet Gynecol 142, no. 6 (October 26, 2023): 1477–85. https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0000000000005421.
  • Choi, Yujung, Saduma Ibrahim, Lawrence P. Park, Elizabeth A. Bukusi, and Megan J. Huchko. “The impact of text message reminders on uptake of cryotherapy among women testing positive for HPV in western Kenya.” Res Sq, June 9, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2828978/v1.
  • Isaacson, Sinéad, Konyin Adewumi, Jennifer S. Smith, Carissa Novak, Sandra Oketch, and Megan J. Huchko. “A Qualitative Exploration of Barriers to Treatment Among HPV-Positive Women in a Cervical Cancer Screening Study in Western Kenya.” Oncologist 28, no. 1 (January 18, 2023): e9–18. https://doi.org/10.1093/oncolo/oyac208.