Karim Abdel Jalil

University of New England Peter Morgane Research Fellowship Recipient 02/01/2018 – 07/10/2019

Biddeford, ME

Project Title #1: Optical Coherence Tomography for Risk Stratifying Pulmonary Hypertension

Project Title #2: Optical Coherence Tomography(OCT) Classification of Vulnerable Plaques

Principal Investigator: Mark Brezinski MD, PhD; Faculty Advisor: Mark Brezinski MD, PhD

Coordinating Institutions: Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

• Received research funding including $3,000 stipend and $1,000 for supplies. Research was also funded by aforementioned institutions.
• Spent 30 hours per week for summer (May-July) and 2 hours per week for remaining time performing OCT literature review, dissecting arteries, preserving arteries, drawing arteries, and imaging arteries with OCT while risk classifying them.
• With literature review and help from PI we created a system for harvesting, preserving, imaging, and classifying plaques from arteries.
• Harvested LAD, Circumflex, Right Coronary, Left Coronary, and Marginal arteries from 20 hearts. Each artery was carefully dissected and imaged. Recorded over 500 OCT images.

University of Connecticut – Chemistry Department, MCB, UConn Health 09/01/2015 – 07/01/2017

Storrs, CT

Principal Investigator: James Rusling, PhD

• Spent between 12-20 hours per week studying the use of Microfluidic devices to test for bio markers in cancer cells. Participated in research and development of nanoparticle optimization and utilization for use in microfluidics.
• Formed personalized independent study in using microfluidics devices in early diagnosis of heart disease through elevated biomarkers.
• Created and 3D printed multiple lab on chip devices for point of care heart disease diagnostics.