Specialization
Focus of research
Federica Inturrisi is a PhD candidate at the Department of Epidemiology and Data Science at the Amsterdam Public Health research institute, based at the VU University Medical Center.
Federica Inturrisi has a background in Biological Sciences (University of Catania, Italy) and obtained two master degrees in Molecular Biosciences with major in Cancer Biology (University of Heidelberg, Germany) and in Epidemiology & Biostatistics (Catholic University of Rome, Italy). During her studies, she gained practical experience and contributed to a wide range of projects from cancer immunology to STI diagnostics, including HPV RNA testing and antibody testing for mycoplasma, and to the epidemiology of bacterial meningitis. During her extra-curricular period at the MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit on AIDS (Entebbe, Uganda), Federica was involved in field epidemiological studies on BCG immunization and helminth infections in the Ugandan population.
In 2017, she was selected for a 4-year project funded by the ZonMw that focuses on risk-based screening strategies for cervical cancer, in particular within the new HPV primary cervical cancer screening program implemented in the Netherlands in 2017. Her work is part of the H2020 RISCC project, a multidisciplinary consortium working on HPV screening and vaccination and contributing to the elimination of cervical cancer in Europe.
Federica is particularly interested in understanding how cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination can be combined in one comprehensive prevention program and in how such strategies can be adapted for low income countries, where the cervical cancer burden is still very high.