Elizabeth Kostas-Polston, Ph.D., A.P.R.N., F.A.A.N.P., F.A.A.N.

Elizabeth Kostas-Polston, Ph.D., A.P.R.N., F.A.A.N.P. is an Assistant Professor at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Daniel K. Inouye Graduate School of Nursing. She received a BSN from Arizona State University, an MSN from the University of Florida, and a Ph.D. in Nursing from Loyola University Chicago. A Board Certified Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner, the primary aim of her clinical practice is to improve the health of women, their families and communities. As nurse scientist, Dr. Kostas-Polston’s scholarship is focused on assuring the effective translation of knowledge for new approaches related to prevention, diagnosis and treatment of Human Papillomavirus (HPV)-related Oropharyngeal cancer. Specifically, the aims of her research are to determine the transformation suppressor activity of HPV 21 E6 protein on the transforming activity of HPV 16 E7 and E6, and to determine if the E6 protein found in low risk HPVs antagonize the transforming activity of high-risk HPVs, thereby leading to tumor suppression. In support of her training in Genomics, Dr. Kostas-Polston was selected as an NIH Fellow and completed post-doctoral studies in Genetics, Genomics and Molecular Biology at the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Nursing Research. She also serves as Chair-Elect of the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health; President, Women’s Health Research Section, MNRS; and on the Board of Directors, Missouri Family Health Council.