Undergraduate Research

Introduction

As an undergraduate I performed research as a biomedical engineering student and as a medical student during my time at Universidad de los Andes Biomedical Engineering Department and School of Medicine. I explored mathematical models, public health, and wet lab work in infectious disease immunology and gene therapy for spinal cord injury.

Math/Epidemiology

Physical activity is a key determinant of health. I explored how to better understand it with math and identify opportunities for impactful public health interventions.

I worked with Juan Cordovez and the Mathematical and Computational Biology - BIOMAC group where I co-developed an agent-based model for adults walking in a city. Such models can help policymakers study the impact of public transportation in promoting healthy living habits such as walking for transportation.

I also worked with Olga Lucia Sarmiento and the Epidemiology group - EpiAndes, where I contributed to a cross-sectional study of adults walking for transportation in Bogotá. We identified the role of TransMilenio, a bus rapid transit system, in promoting physical activity in adults in the city.

Wet Lab

Infectious Disease Immunology

Chagas disease, the most prevalent communicable tropical disease in Latin America, currently lacks effective treatments. As a member of the Basic Medical Sciences - CBMU group led by John Mario González, I helped develop an in vivo model for the parasite causing Chagas disease (Trypanosoma cruzi) in zebrafish (Danio rerio). This model may aid in understanding the pathophysiology of this neglected tropical disease, as well as potentially help in developing pharmacological interventions.

I presented this work at the Latin American Zebrafish Association - LAZEN 2014 meeting and course.

Gene Therapy for Spinal Cord Injury

Traumatic spinal cord injury has a severe impact on quality of life and currently has little to no treatment options. As a visiting researcher at the Department of Physiology at Mayo Clinic, under the supervision of Professors Carlos Mantilla and Gary Sieck, I co-led work identifying the potential of gene therapy in recovery after cervical spinal cord injury in an animal model. The therapy, an Adeno-Associated Virus delivery of TrkB (a receptor for Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor), achieved a ~4x improvement in recovery of electrical activity in the diaphragm after spinal cord injury compared to the control group.

This work resulted in my first-author publication.