Joel Palefsky, MD

About the Author

Dr. Joel Palefsky is the Chair of the HPV Working Group of the AMC and is the head of the AMC HPV Virology Core Lab. He has extensive experience in studying the biology of HPV infection, HPV infection in HIV-positive men and women, HPV vaccines and in the design and implementation of clinical research trials of HPV-related disease. He has published over 250 papers and is the PI on several laboratory-based and clinical research studies of HPV-associated neoplasia, particularly in the setting of HIV infection. Anal dysplasia occurs in men and women and is especially common among patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). He also specializes in the biology and development of new treatments for HPV and Epstein-Barr virus. He is the founder and president of the International Anal Neoplasia Society and President-elect of the International Human Papillomavirus Society. He is actively involved in training students in clinical and translational research and has led the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) program at UCSF since its inception in 2001. He was the head of the Roadmap T32 student research program in 2005 before it transitioned to the TL1 program, and has been the leader of the Clinical Translational Science Awards (CTSA) TL1 program at UCSF since its inception in 2006. Dr. Palefsky plays an active role in promoting student research programs at UCSF, advising and recruiting students supervising their research and providing active career guidance. He has won numerous student teaching awards.