Andrew Dykens, MD, MPH is an Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and a core member of the UIC Center for Global Health. Andrew is a National Institutes of Health funded researcher, a member of the UIC Cancer Center, and a Fellow at the UIC Institute for Health Research and Policy. Andrew is the Founder and Director for the Capacity Building Platform at the Consortium of Universities for Global Health, a global initiative that aims to facilitate institutional partnerships focused on health capacity building by connecting locally identified human resource gaps to existing training capacity. Since 2010, he has studied the implementation of sustainable cervical cancer prevention programs through capacity building, quality improvement, and behavioral interventions at the national, regional, and local levels in Senegal. He actively collaborates with the Senegal National Ministry for Health and Social Action, the Institute of Health and Development at the University Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar, Senegal, the Senegal National Cancer Institute, Peace Corps Senegal with direct engagement of over 50 Peace Corps Volunteers, and Rotary International. Andrew is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Mauritania 1997-99) and a Rotarian at the Rotary Club of Chicago.

Clinic Location: Family Medicine Center at University Village

Clinical Interests: Wide-spectrum family and community medicine clinical practice upholding the value and right to healthcare for each individual through chronic disease management, global health, cross-cultural medicine, public health, and urgent care emphasizing natural approaches to care through nutrition and lifestyle, when appropriate, to reduce dependency on pharmaceuticals, when possible, and to optimize well-being, longevity, and quality of life.

Research Interests:

1. Develop scalable prevention and control programs in low resource settings and low- and lower-middle income countries (LMIC);
2. Reduce barriers to access for primary care by translating evidence-based screening approaches to real world settings in LMICs in community responsive ways;
3. Build LMIC clinical and implementation research capacity in for noncommunicable diseases (NCD);
4. Apply prevention strategies in relation to local culture and local resources by empowering decentralized LMIC health systems and develop effective approaches to influence policy makers on the need for NCD control;
5. Train and mentor future NCD health services implementation researchers;
6. Scale, evaluate, and refine an innovative model of partnership that aims to facilitate robust implementation science projects in LMICs; and
7. Investigate the sustainable strengthening of primary health care services at the community level in low-resource settings globally, emphasizing community participation through partnerships, health equity and global health education

Selected Grants:

1R01CA258683-01A1, Grants.gov # GRANT13412230. U.S. National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute. Funding Period: 04/01/2022-03/30/2027. Title: Adaptation and implementation of a patient navigation program for cervical cancer screening across contexts in Senegal (Dykens MPI)

1K01TW010494-01. National Institutes of Health, Fogarty International Center. International Research Scientist Development Award. Funding Period: 9/28/2016-03/31/2022. Title: Reducing barriers and sustaining utilization of a cervical cancer screening program in rural Senegal.  (Dykens PI)

3U48DP005010-02S2. Special Interest Project: #1U48DP005010 SIP 14-022. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Illinois Prevention Research Center: Supporting Policy and Environmental Change. CDC Global and Territorial Health Research Network (eGTHRN). Funding Period: 10/1/2014 – 9/30/2019. Title: Horizontal and vertical scaling of cervical cancer screening health policy originating at the local level through a community participatory approach through implementation research in Senegal. (Dykens MPI)

GG1752614. Rotary International. Funding Period: 11/2019-10/2022. Building Cervical Cancer Prevention Services in Senegal (Dykens PI)

R-202110-68191. Funder: Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) Global through National Institutes of Health (NIH) Fogarty International Center (FIC). Funding Period: 1/15/21-05/15/22. Title: Consortium of Universities for Global Health Capacity Building Database - Next Generation. (Dykens PD)

Notable Honors:

Commencement Speaker for the 2023 class at Truman State University. Kirksville, Missouri. May 13, 2023.

Rotary/One Club of Chicago Spirit of Service Award

Linda K. Gunzburger Faculty Award for Excellence in Scholarship. University of Illinois Chicago Department of Family Medicine.

UIC Nuveen International Development Award for Faculty, Chicago, IL.

Outstanding Young Physician Award - presented by the University of Missouri School of Medicine and the Medical Alumni Organization, Kansas City, MO.

Grant Generating Project Fellow 2012-2013, Virginia Commonwealth University

Global Community Project Competition Award Recipient – National Peace Corps Association. 50th Anniversary of Peace Corps – Washington DC National Theater. Washington, DC.

Xiang B, Peterson CE, Dykens JA. Assessment of Institutional Implementation Research Capacity of the National Institutes of Health D43 Network. Am J Trop Med Hyg [Internet]. 2023 Sep 5; Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.23-0265

Dykens JA, Martin K, Kiguli-Malwadde E, Kupfer L, Chen Z (adam), Reynolds NR, et al. A global matchmaking web platform facilitating equitable institutional partnerships and mentorship to strengthen health workforce training capacity. Frontiers in Education [Internet]. 2023;8. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2023.1170247

Dykens JA, Peterson CE, Holt HK, Harper DM. Gender neutral HPV vaccination programs: Reconsidering policies to expand cancer prevention globally. Frontiers in Public Health [Internet]. 2023;11. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1067299

Peterson CE, Dykens JA, Weine SM, Holt HK, Fleurimont J, Hutten CG, Weiser J, Abuisneineh F, Awadalla S, Ongtengco N, Gastala N,, Jasenof I. Assessing the interrelationship between stigma, social influence, and cervical cancer prevention in an urban underserved setting: An exploratory study. PLoS ONE 17(12): e0278538. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278538

Ongtengco N, Thiam H, Collins Z, De Jesus EL , Peterson CE, Wang T, Hendrix E, Ndiaye Y, Gueye B, Gassama O, Kasse AA, Faye A, Smith JS, Fitzgibbon M, Dykens JA. Role of gender in perspectives of discrimination, stigma, and attitudes relative to cervical cancer in rural Sénégal. PLoS One [Internet]. 2020 Apr 28;15(4):e0232291. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232291

Dykens JA, Smith JS, Demment M, Marshall EL, Schuh T, Peters K, Irwin T, McIntosh S, Sy A, Dye T. Evaluating the implementation of cervical cancer screening programs in low resource settings globally: a systematized review. Cancer Causes and Control. 31, 417–429(2020). Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-020-01290-4

Rahman R, Clark MD, Collins Z, Traore F, Dioukhane EM, Thiam H, Ndiaye Y, De Jesus EL, Danfakha N, Peters KE, Komarek T, Linn AM, Linn PE, Wallner KE, Charles M, Hasnain M, Peterson CE, Dykens JA. Cervical cancer screening decentralized policy adaptation: an African rural-context-specific systematic literature review. Global Health Action. 2019;12(1):1587894. doi: 10.1080/16549716.2019.1587894

Dykens JA, Linn A, Irwin T, Peters K, Pyra M, Traoré F, Touré-Diarra M, Hasnain M, Wallner K, Linn P, Ndiaye Y. Implementing visual cervical cancer screening in Senegal: A cross sectional study of risk factors and prevalence highlighting service utilization barriers. International Journal of Women’s Health. 2017 Jan 27;2017(9):59-67.

Abril EP, Kupczyk M, Zwicke GL, Mastarone GL, Irwin T, Dykens JA. Health communication practices in rural Senegal. An assessment to support cervical cancer screening. Journal of Applied Communication Research. 2015;43(2):242-262.

Dykens JA, Ndiaye Y, Hedrick C, Linn A. Peace Corps partnered health services implementation research in global health:  opportunity for impact. Global Adv Health Med. 2014;3(5):8-15

Bachelor of Science -- Truman State University, Kirksville, MO
Doctor of Medicine -- University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO
Family Medicine Residency – University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL
Master of Public Health – University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL

American Board of Family Medicine

Consortium of Universities of Global Health
AcademyHealth
North American Primary Care Research Group
African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC)
Association Sénégalaise des Professionnels de Santé Publique (ASPSP)
AFREHealth (The African Forum for Research and Education in Health)
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR)
Physicians for a National Health Plan (PNHP)
National Physicians Alliance / Doctors for America
Global Health Council
Physicians for Social Responsibility
National Peace Corps Association

Dykens JA, Gassama O, Dieng Y, Thiam H, Sarr H, Hendrix E, Peterson CE, Flores RN, Sougou NM, Patil CL, Simon MA, Awadalla, Abboud S, Bassoum O, Suleman A, Ndiaye I, Sall A, Faye A. EPIS applied evaluation of a regionwide cervical cancer screening program implementation in Senegal: Informing the adaptation of a patient navigation program. 2023 NIH, NCI New Grantee Workshop. Rockville, MD. October 30-31, 2023.

Dykens JA, Kiguli-Malwaddi E, Bui T, Desai M, Nabaweesi J, Khan A. Strengthening training capacity globally by connecting trainers with training needs: The CUGH Capacity Strengthening Platform. CUGH Virtual Global Health Week 2023. Nov 1, 2023.

Kiguli-Malwadde E, Chu K, Omaswa F, Eichbaum Q, Dykens JA. Capacity Strengthening for LMICs in Africa: the AFREhealth CUGH partnership. Satellite Session. 6th Annual AFREhealth 2023 Symposium. Maputo, Mozambique. 1-3 August, 2023.

Kamholz B, Bhattarai S, Marahatta K, Shrestha A, Dykens JA, Reynolds N. Geriatrics in Nepal: Building Capacity. American Association of Geriatrics Psychiatry Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA. March 3-5, 2023. [Abstract and Poster]

Dykens, JA. Dissemination & Implementation Research: Measures and Metrics Power Overview with a focus on health equity and social drivers. gmhCONNECT Summer Institute 2023. University of Illinois Chicago. June 21, 2023.

Dykens JA. The elimination of cervical cancer in LMICs: Exploring approaches. Senegalese Society of Colposcopy and Papillomavirus-related Pathology. The University Cheikh Anta Diop African Center of Excellence for Mother and Child Health. Dakar, Senegal. May 19, 2023.

Dykens JA. Islamic Republic of Mauritania: context and the state of public health relevant to the abolition of chattel slavery. Kellogg Wieboldt Hall. Northwestern University Law School. Chicago, IL. January 20, 2023.

Dykens JA. Addressing the role of gender in perspectives of stigma relative to cervical cancer in rural Sénégal. Panel:  Intersectional Stigma. Global Cancer Stigma Research Workshop. National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute. Bethesda, MD. September 28 & 29, 2022.

Kochendorfer K, Dykens JA, Matthews K, Holt H. 50 Years of Excellence: Advancing Health Equity through Innovation and Inquiry in Clinical Care, Education, Service & Scholarship. "Residency to Scholars, Leaders, and Change Agents." Department of Family & Community Medicine’s 2022 Scholarship Day. May 25, 2022. [Panel]

Dykens JA.  Peace Corps Academic Partnership Model: The Senegal experience of building capacity and knowledge.  West Africa Peace Corps Country Directors Annual Meeting. Peace Corps Office, Dakar, Senegal  May 2022.