Karen Ardila Lopez

Biography

About me
I am Karen Ardila Lopez, a biomedical engineer from Colombia. In my undergrad I had experience in brain functional connectivity analysis for mild cognitive impairment on EEG, leading me to apply for the Mitacs Globalink Research Internship 2022 and that’s how I ended up doing research at the University of Calgary. I am currently studying an MSc in Biomedical Engineering with specialization in Medical Imaging at the University of Calgary. I’m working on implementing machine learning and a genome-wide association study to discover the effects of genetic predisposition on brain aging. I am passionate about painting, learning new languages, cultures, and foods.

My research
Brain aging can eventually lead to dementia, and many neuroimaging parameters change as people age. Machine learning models have been suggested to estimate brain aging using Brain Age Gap Estimation (BrainAGE) models. The majority of studies in this area use structural MRI features, but advanced metrics such as cerebral blood flow and resting state connectivity could be used. However, a significant portion of total variation stays unaccounted for, and this unaccounted variation is attributed to individual differences caused by underlying genetics.

My study looks into the genes and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are linked to brain aging based on changes in brain structural volume, diffusion, and connectivity. The BrainAGE model is used to measure the magnitude of changes in features known to be influenced by age. Using the UK Biobank database, which contains neuroimaging data in a variety of contrast modes, including structural T1-weighted, diffusion-weighted MRI, and connectivity images. The BrainAGE scores obtained are used as phenotype data in a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify genetic variations associated with the morphological, cerebrovascular, and connectivity features on accelerated brain aging. To ensure data quality and reduce bias, quality control measures were applied to the genetic files. The results of the association test are visualized and interpreted using genomic tools. This study is critical for determining how genetic predisposition affects brain aging for specific brain features, allowing for a wide range of studies and a better understanding of human brain aging. The findings have the potential to improve brain age prediction models and pave the way for precision medicine targets. A fun fact of the lab I work in is that since our members come from all around the world, in total we speak 14 languages in our lab!
Supervisor: Ethan MacDonald | Co-supervisor: Quan Long

BRAIN CREATE program aspirations
I hope to make the most of this program by attending conferences, academic exchange, and possibly an industrial placement. In addition, learning through the courses, workshops, and journal clubs. I believe this is a fantastic opportunity, and I intend to take full advantage of it!

Commercialization
Neurodegeneration and dementia, which are realized versions of end state brain aging, have a remarkably high socioeconomic cost on society, estimated at one trillion dollars per year. Demographic shifts bring the issue to the forefront; according to the United Nations, the proportion of the global population aged 65 and older is expected to increase from 10% in 2022 to 16% in 2050. Additionally, in the United States the public funding for long-term care for the elderly is anticipated to increase to 3.0% of the national GDP by 2050, and in the UK it is anticipated to increase to 1.8%, among other nations. Without going further, Alberta's senior population continues to rise faster than other age groups. More than 725,000 Albertans were over the age of 65 as of September 30, 2022, and this number is expected to more than double by 2046.

My research project aims to develop multi-modal BrainAGE models using neuroimaging features that are known to change with age, and then investigate which genes and single nucleotide polymorphisms are associated with accelerated or reduced aging based on brain structure, diffusion, and connectivity features. The potential for commercialization of this research project lies in its ability to improve brain age prediction models, enabling precision medicine targets for neurological disease. The findings from this project can be used to develop new therapies that target specific genes or SNPs associated with brain aging, potentially leading to the development of new drugs or treatments for neurological disorders such as dementia. Additionally, the project's results can be used to improve early diagnosis and intervention for neurological diseases, leading to better patient outcomes and reduced healthcare costs.

Overall, this project has significant commercialization potential by providing governments with a software based on these findings (e.g., the Albertan Government) to estimate how many citizens will present accelerated brain aging and the related pathologies so that they can be financially and structurally prepared to fund health care strategies, preventive treatments, and working in collaboration with organizations such as BioAlberta, Medlior, Innovate Calgary, Nanostics, and others.  We can have social factors predicted by postal codes when all confounding factors are appropriately modelled, making government planning more accurate. The software would cost $200k CAD to purchase, with a yearly maintenance and data update fee of $75k CAD to improve the prediction models and upload more subjects from the target territory in order to have better predictions each year in this neurotechnology field.

Publications

Journal Papers:

2. He J., Antonyan L., Zhu H., Ardila K., Li Q., Enoma D., Zhang W., Liu A., Chekouo T., Cao B., MacDonald M.E., Arnold P.D., Long Q. A statistical method for image-mediated association studies discovers genes and pathways associated with four brain disorders, The American Journal of Human Genetics, 2023.

1. Echeverri-Ocampo I., Ardila K., Molina-Mateo J., Padilla-Buritica J. I., Carceller H., Barceló-Martinez E.A., Llamur S. I., de la Iglesia-Vaya M. EEG-Based Functional Connectivity Analysis for Cognitive Impairment Classification, MDPI Electronics, 2023.

International Conferences:

6. Ardila K., Mohite A., Munro E., Addeh A., Curtis C., Long Q., MacDonald M.E. Impact of Genetics on the Aging of Functional Connectivity with BrainAGE using the UK Biobank.

Conference: OHBM Conference 2024, South Korea - Status: Accepted 2023

5. Addeh A., Vega F., Ardila K., Willliams R.J., Pike G., MacDonald M.E. Respiratory Rate and Head Motion Dynamics: A Frequency Analysis Across Life Stafes Using HCP Dataset.

Conference: OHBM Conference 2024, South Korea - Status: Accepted 2023

4. Mohite A., Ardila K., Munro E., Curtis C., MacDonald M.E. Improving the Precision of Brain Age Gap Estimation Models with the Incorporation of Genetic Information using the UK Biobank.

Conference: IEEE-International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging 2024, Greece - Status: Accepted 2023

3. Ardila K., Munro E., Vega F., Mohite A., Curtis C., Tyndall V. A., MacDonald M.E. Using Machine Learning to Study the Effects of Genetic Predisposition on Brain Aging in the UK Biobank.

Conference: IEEE-International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging 2023, Colombia - Status: Presented 2023

2. Addeh A., Ardila K., Vega F., Golestani A., MacDonald M.E. Limitations of the Derived Respiratory Variation Measurements Used in Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Conference: IEEE-International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging 2023, Colombia - Status: Presented 2023

1. Echeverri-Ocampo I., Ardila K., Padilla-Buritica J. I. Brain Biomarker Estimation by Functional Connectivity for Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Conference: XIII International Meeting of Research Groups, Latin America - Status: Presented 2021, Won 1st place in Engineering and Technology

National and Regional Conferences:

7. Ardila K., Munro E., Mohite A., Curtis C., Long Q., MacDonald M.E.  Modelling the Impact of Genetics on the Aging of Cerebral White Matter with Brain Age Gap Estimates using the UK Biobank.

Conference: 24th Annual Alberta Biomedical Engineering Conference - Status: Presented 2023

6. Ardila K., Munro E., Mohite A., MacDonald M.E. Modeling the Impact of Genetics on Brain Aging: Identifying Genetics Associations with Age Gap Estimates using Neuroimaging Data from the UK Biobank. 

Conference: Women in Data Science, University of Calgary  - Status: Presented 2023

5. Munro E., Ardila K., Mohite A., Curtis C., Tyndall V. A., MacDonald M.E. Using Machine Learning to Discover Genetic Effects on Brain Aging in the UK Biobank.

Conference: 23rd Annual Alberta Biomedical Engineering Conference - Status: Presented 2022

4. Munro E., Ardila K., Mohite A., Curtis C., Tyndall V. A., MacDonald M.E. Preliminary Work Using Machine Learning to Discover Genetic Effects on Brain Aging in the UK Biobank.

Conference: Biomedical Engineering (BME) Summer Student Symposium - Status: Presented 2022

3. Echeverri-Ocampo I., Ardila-Lopez K., Padilla-Buritica J., de la Iglesia-Vaya M., Molina-Mateo J., Restrepo F., Segura-Giraldo B. Adaptive Window Analysis for EEG with Visual Oddball in Cognitive Impairment.

Conference: 5th edition of the Montreal AI and Neuroscience conference (MAIN 2021) - Status: Presented 2021 – Graphical Abstract

2. Echeverri-Ocampo I., Ardila K., Padilla-Buritica J. I. Estimation of Functional Connectivity as a Brain Biomarker for Mild Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults.

Conference: XIII Departmental Meeting of Research Groups in Colombia (RREDSI), Colombia - Status: Presented 2021

1. Echeverri-Ocampo I., Ardila K., Padilla-Buritica J. I. Estimation of Functional Connectivity as a Brain Biomarker for Mild Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults.

Conference: XI Regional Meeting of Research Groups in the Caldas Node (RREDSI), Colombia - Status: Presented 2021

Awards

Recognition:

Button of Honor to the Caicedonite Merit, Mayor's Office of Caicedonia, Valle, Colombia, 2022

Mention of Honor, Universidad Autónoma de Manizales, Colombia, 2018-2022

Mental Health Ambassador, Universidad Autónoma de Manizales, Colombia, 2021-2022

Best Conference on Engineering and Technology, XIII International Meeting of Research Groups (Latin America), Virtual, 2021

Leadership Recognition, Mayor's Office City of Manizales and SUMA, Caldas, Colombia, 2018

Scholarships:

Brain CREATE Graduate Award - MSc, University of Calgary, Canada, 2023

Mitacs Globalink Graduate Fellowship Award, University of Calgary, Canada, 2023

Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship (AGES), University of Calgary, Canada, 2023

Alberta Innovates Graduate Student Scholarship, University of Calgary, Canada, 2023

Mitacs Globalink Research Intership Award, University of Calgary, Canada, 2022

Baccalaureate Excellence Scholarship, Universidad Autónoma de Manizales, Colombia, 2018-2022