Miriam Elfström

I am an epidemiologist and public health specialist who has worked at the intersection of cervical cancer prevention research and practice for over a decade. I am currently the Head of Unit at the Center for Cervical Cancer Elimination, Medical Diagnostics Karolinska, Karolinska University Hospital and as a research coordinator at Karolinska Institutet. I divide my time between research, screening program operations, and national program and international network leadership. 

The focus of my research is optimizing cervical cancer prevention. Most recently, I have worked on the Swedish national strategy for faster elimination of cervical cancer. Additionally, I am interested in risk-based screening, the implementation/evaluation of HPV extended genotyping, and HPV self-sampling in organized, population-based screening. I am responsible for the annual audit of cervical cancer cases in Sweden, and I am particularly interested in health systems strengthening and evaluating the organization and quality assurance of cancer prevention programs. I am the Chair of the Swedish Working Group for Cervical Cancer Prevention that oversees the implementation, monitoring, and coordination of the cervical screening program, as well as the development of the National Standard of Care for screening. From 2024-2026, I served as the Chair of the International Cancer Screening Network.

Lectures on Screening in the Master’s Programme in Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet

Lectures on Cancer Prevention in the Nursing Degree education, Karolinska Institutet

Lectures data-driven optimization of cancer screening programs, implementing population-based organized screening, HPV self-sampling, strategies for elimination of cervical cancer, and impact of HPV vaccination