SUMMARY
MJ J. Kasten, M.D., researches how to best treat and prevent sexually transmitted illnesses (STIs) including HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia. She studies how to connect and keep difficult-to-reach populations in care.
Dr. Kasten also is interested in how different communication tools and styles impact people's care.
She is involved in education and is interested in further exploring how to best teach her colleagues about preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP); lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex communication; vaccines; and vaccine hesitancy.
Dr. Kasten studied the use of convalescent plasma in a heavily immunosuppressed population during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She is currently studying the recent Mayo Clinic experience with fever of unknown origin (FUO).
Focus areas
- Validation of self-collection of pharyngeal and rectal specimens for chlamydia and gonorrhea testing. This study involved partnering with Planned Parenthood to obtain enough positive tests to validate the process. Dr. Kasten was able to validate the self-collection testing and found that it was likely more sensitive than professionally collected specimens.
- Mail-in testing. Dr. Kasten and Mayo Clinic microbiology team are developing mail-in self-collected blood spot cards for both HIV and syphilis testing.
- Infectious disease (ID) clinic. Dr. Kasten is currently conducting a retrospective study of all people with FUO seen in the ID clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, over a 20-year span.
- Mycobacterium smegmatis. Dr. Kasten is leading a study of antimicrobial susceptibility and clinical outcomes of individuals seen at Mayo Clinic with an unusual mycobacterium called Mycobacterium smegmatis. Dr. Kasten is interested in further studies involving this nontuberculous mycobacterium and responses to treatment.
- Communication in healthcare. Dr. Kasten remains active in the Communication in Healthcare Faculty Program at Mayo Clinic and seeks to educate colleagues about communication challenges. She is actively looking for ways to advance the science of healthcare communication.
Significance to patient care
Dr. Kasten's work involving self-collection of specimens for STI, HIV and syphilis testing will hopefully lead to Mayo Clinic being able to help more people continue using PrEP. A first-quarter project studying all individuals using PrEP seen in the Mayo Clinic ID clinic prior to the COVID-19 pandemic found that many people dropped out of care due to the need to be seen in person every three months. The hope is that offering a virtual option with mail-in testing will help many more individuals continue using PrEP and ultimately reduce the number of new HIV infections and STIs.
Dr. Kasten hopes that her work to better understand people with FUO who are referred to the Mayo Clinic ID clinic will result in better use of resources, faster diagnosis and better outcomes.
Nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary infections are becoming increasingly common and are frequently challenging to treat. Dr. Kasten believes that her work will result in more individuals being appropriately treated and perhaps cured of this disease.
Dr. Kasten believes that her education and research efforts with respect to communication help her colleagues have more-meaningful experiences with people, with more individuals being and feeling heard and receiving quality care despite structural barriers.