UNews - Anna Kovalchuk

New study finds smoking speeds up biological clock, making people older than their chronological age

trevor.kenney — Fri, 08 Feb 2019 16:52:51 +0000

For years, young people have used smoking as a way to look older. As it turns out – thanks to a first-of-its-kind study out of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge using artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze blood biochemistry – it’s true, smoking truly does make you older.

“We demonstrate for the first time that smoking status can be predicted using blood biochemistry and cell count results and the recent advances in AI and machine learning,” says Dr. Olga Kovalchuk, a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, Board of Governors Chair in Epigenetics of Health and Disease, and Canadian Institute of Health Research Chair in Gender and Health. “By employing age-prediction models developed using supervised deep learning techniques, we found that smokers exhibited higher aging rates than non-smokers. In other words, we show that smoking makes people biologically older.”

This realization almost sounds like common sense but until now, through the use of AI, it has never been quantified and illuminated to this extent.

“We all have a chronological age but then there is also our biological age, which is an indicator of general fitness,” says Kovalchuk. “If somebody is 35 but on a biological clock, through specific markers, it shows them at a biological age of 50, obviously they are doing something wrong. Smoking, specifically in younger people, those in their 20s, 30s and 40s, is truly harmful as it makes them biologically older.”

The study, Blood Biochemistry Analysis to Detect Smoking Status and Quantify Accelerated Aging in Smokers, was recently published in the journal Nature – Scientific Reports. It involved a team effort by top clinicians, AI researchers, and deep learning and aging experts led by the Canada Cancer and Aging Research Laboratories in collaboration with InSilico Medicine, the world leaders in AI and aging research, as well as several national and international institutions.

Kovalchuk, who co-led the study with aging expert and devoted anti-smoking campaigner Dr. Alex Zhavoronkov and was assisted by her daughter, Anna Kovalchuk (BSc ’14, MSc ’15, PhD ’17), a current ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary student in the Leaders in Medicine program, has a personal connection to the effects of smoking on the human body. She also understands how the warnings linking smoking to lung cancer and heart disease often ring hollow with the millennial generation.

“Fighting smoking is kind of up close and personal for me because my dad was a smoker and even though he quit in 2003, it still caught up with him,” says Olga of her father’s passing. “People are somewhat tired of hearing about lung cancer and heart disease in the context of smoking prevention but this is a different story. Our study shows that smoking is definitely associated with aging and it also shows that some effects are more pronounced in females. Maybe that’s a message that could really resonate.”

Kovalchuk’s research group used data from 149,000 anonymous individual blood biochemistry records linked to smoking status from across the province. Through the use of AI, they were able to look at blood biochemistry markers and predict age. What they found was both remarkable and troubling. Age predictions showed that the biological age of male smokers was 1.5 times older than their chronological age while female smokers were nearly twice as old as their actual chronological age.

“What’s beautiful about AI is that we couldn’t run these calculations before because the human mind just can’t deal with these large data sets. What it looks like is a bunch of numbers, lines of numbers, and we train it what to do and then it looks for patterns,” says Kovalchuk. “We wanted to do this using nothing fancy, just general basic bloodwork that is done on every general checkup. But with this data, using AI, you can see major patterns and it’s just fascinating.”

How people will consume this new information is unknown. For Kovalchuk, it’s another weapon in an age-old war against smoking. If it’s appealing to young people’s vanity, then so be it.

“Once you develop cancer, it doesn’t really matter how it developed, now you have to treat it, so shaming or blaming a person for smoking is not productive,” she says. “But if we can prevent the cancers from happening with a message that will resonate, specifically with millennials and what are they concerned about, their looks, then let’s use this information.”

Chemotherapy research program earns Anna Kovalchuk esteemed Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship

trevor.kenney — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 17:20:58 +0000

Anna Kovalchuk (BSc ’14, MSc ’15), a PhD student at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, is one of 166 doctoral students in Canada to be awarded a 2015-2016 Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship.

The recent announcement by the Government of Canada also included 70 new Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships, for a total financial commitment of $34.7 million to attract and retain the best young doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows in Canada and around the world.

Kovalchuk is currently working on completing her doctoral degree under the supervision of Drs. Bryan Kolb and Robbin Gibb.

“I congratulate all recipients of this year’s Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships and Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships, says Kirsty Duncan, minister of science. “This investment represents our government’s commitment to support emerging researchers whose hard work will help put our country at the forefront of scientific discovery while equipping them with the skills they need to join a strong middle class.”

“It’s a very prestigious scholarships offered in Canada and it was a little bit unexpected. It’s such a competitive scholarship but my hopes were high,” says Kovalchuk. “These scholarships are incredibly important; it’s an incentive to continue with research, at least it is for me.”

The scholarship is worth $50,000 per year for three years, which Kovalchuk says will be put to good use in helping her continue her research. At present, she’s working on completing her doctoral degree under the supervision of Drs. Bryan Kolb and Robbin Gibb.

With Kolb and Gibb, Kovalchuk is researching the effects of chemotherapy on the brain using a mouse model. Many patients, after receiving chemotherapy, report having effects with their attention, memory and cognitive function. The effects are known as chemo brain.

“We’re exploring what is happening at the molecular level that is causing this side effect. If we can figure out what is going on, it will be a foundation for helping ameliorate or even eradicate these side effects,” says Kovalchuk.

Kovalchuk started the research while doing her master’s and has added another element since she started her doctoral work. Partnering with Champions Oncology in the United States, a firm that offers personalized cancer treatment, she is looking at the brains of mice implanted with samples of patients’ tumours and treated with chemotherapy.

“We were lucky enough to get the brains of these animals. Now we can see at the molecular level what the presence of a cancerous tumour does to the brain and what happens after chemotherapy treatment,” she says. “From our results, we might have to rename the term ‘chemo brain’ to include ‘tumour brain’ because the presence of a tumour has a huge effect on the brain and chemotherapy adds more.”

Kovalchuk eventually hopes to become a radiation oncologist. She has been accepted into the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine and will start her studies there next July. She’s passionate in her desire to combat cancer and has consistently been among the country’s leading fundraisers for the CIBC Run for the Cure Post-Secondary Challenge.

“I’m really grateful to everyone who got me to this point, from my supervisors and other mentors from the U of L and the U of C and the Jack Ady Cancer Centre to my parents for guiding me in this direction,” says Kovalchuk. “I’m glad it’s all come together and I’ll take the opportunities as they come.”

There's no place like the U of L for Anna Kovalchuk

trevor.kenney — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 16:54:15 +0000

For Anna Kovalchuk (BSc ’14, MSc ’15), the door has been open for her to study virtually anywhere she’d like, and yet it’s never been a question as to where she really wants to be – the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

“A lot of people asked why I was doing everything in Lethbridge, why not go elsewhere, and I thought, why would I?” she says. “I have a great basis here; I have a great working relationship with my supervisor and other students in the lab. It’s a great university.”

Anna Kovalchuk (right) plans to complete her PhD studies under the tutelage of Drs. Bryan Kolb (left) and Robbin Gibb.

It is also, literally, a second home to her. The daughter of biological sciences researchers Drs. Igor and Olga Kovalchuk, Anna was a fixture in U of L labs long before she was eligible to attend the school as a student. And while she didn’t follow in her parents’ footsteps entirely, turning to neuroscience early in her undergraduate studies, Kovalchuk has stayed true to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and plans to continue her PhD studies on campus.

“I was able to get into Dr. Bryan Kolb’s lab for an independent study when I was an undergraduate student and just continued every semester,” she says. “I think I kind of roped him into taking me on as a master’s student, and now I’m doing my PhD co-supervised by him and Dr. Robbin Gibb.”

Her studies continue to build on the work she’s done in trying to find the mechanisms underlying the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatments in patients suffering from cancer, and the methods to mitigate them.

“For my master’s, we were looking at the effects of chemotherapy and radiation on the murine brain; now we want to see what the effects of chemotherapy and radiation are when a tumour is present,” she explains. “For example, we want to see what sort of effects there would be on children who are getting chemotherapy treatment, and how this might impact them later on in their lives. Maybe if we can see what kind of mechanisms are going on in the brain we can understand what we can do to mitigate the side effects. In the end, that’s our goal, to see how our work in the lab can help people.”

Combatting the effects of cancer has always resonated with Kovalchuk. For years she has been among the country’s leading fundraisers for the annual Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure Post Secondary Challenge. Her professional goal is to become a radiation oncologist, but only after she completes her PhD in neuroscience.

“I want to get into medical school, it’s a big goal of mine, but I want to have a PhD before that because I would like to continue with research if I become a doctor,” she says. “I’d like to mesh the patient aspect with the clinical research aspect and enjoy both worlds.”

Kovalchuk credits Kolb for helping her discover her passion for neuroscience and a thirst for discovery.

“He helped me build up my love for neuroscience until I just realized that it was the right thing for me all along,” says Kovalchuk. “He’s guided me through all of this, and really helped me through all these years. I wouldn’t change anything about my education. He’s been a great mentor, and I’m really thankful to have had the opportunity to work in his lab.”

Master's student earns Alberta Cancer Foundation research studentship award

trevor.kenney — Mon, 08 Sep 2014 18:00:21 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge master’s student, Anna Kovalchuk (BSc ’14), has been awarded the 2014 Dr. Cyril M. Kay Graduate Studentship from the Alberta Cancer Foundation.

Anna Kovalchuk is examining the effects of chemotherapy drugs on the brain using an animal model.

A prestigious awards program, these studentships are awarded to exceptional students interested in medical or health research related to cancer. They are available across the cancer control continuum, including studies in etiology, prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment, health services and palliation.

Kovalchuk’s project, which was deemed to be the highest-ranked project of those chosen to receive awards, involves examining the effects of chemotherapy drugs on the brain using an animal model. She receives $27,000 for the first year of her study, as well as a research stipend valued at $1,500 that allows her to attend conferences and like events.

“The project is sort of a continuation of what I was working on while I was an undergraduate student,” says Kovalchuk, whose master’s thesis supervisor is Dr. Bryan Kolb in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s Department of Neuroscience. “That project involved looking at the effects of radiation on rats and I thought it’d be interesting to look at the other form of cancer treatment, chemotherapy. We want to profile what happens on a molecular level to see what’s going on, which genes are being upregulated or downregulated.”

Patients undergoing chemotherapy often report cognitive after effects, such as attention deficit and memory loss. Kovalchuk’s work will attempt to decipher what chemotherapy drugs are doing genetically and may help explain, at least in part, mechanisms of the chemo brain phenomenon.

“We’re not looking for a way to make a new treatment, instead we want to look at what is happening on a molecular level in the brains of animals exposed to chemo drugs to see if we can profile what the drugs are doing to the brain cells,” she says. “If we can understand the mechanics of what’s going on at the base molecular level in the brain, we could be better enabled to find ways to help people who, after having chemotherapy, suffer these side effects.”

Kovalchuk, the daughter of accomplished ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge genetic researchers Drs. Igor and Olga Kovalchuk, is passionate in her desire to combat cancer. She has consistently been among the country’s leading fundraisers for the annual Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure Post Secondary Challenge, and her professional goal is to become a radiation oncologist. She recently wrote her Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and will be applying to medical school later this fall.

“I’m just so grateful to have received this award from the Alberta Cancer Foundation so that I can continue along with this project and make a contribution to fight against cancer,” she says.

U of L students earn national recognition for fundraising efforts

trevor.kenney — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 16:26:53 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students Anna Kovalchuk and Devynn Helischauer have earned CIBC Education Awards for their fundraising prowess in the annual Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure Post Secondary Challenge.

Each year, CIBC and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (CBCF) challenge post-secondary students to show their pink spirit, get involved and raise funds for breast cancer research, education and awareness initiatives. In celebration of their hard work and dedication to giving back to their community, the top five regional and 10 national individual fundraisers across Canada receive a CIBC Education Award of $2,500 to help with school expenses.

Kovalchuk is a fourth-year neuroscience student who has been honoured with a CIBC Education Award for three successive years. She raised the second highest dollar amount of the national winners, totaling $4,410. Helischauer, a mathematics and kinesiology student who last year led all Alberta students in fundraising, brought in $3,536 for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

"It is my intent to pursue a career in medicine and medical research, and it is crucially important to strengthen research and community funding," says Kovalchuk on her motivation as a fundraiser. "Research funding stems from donations and fundraisers that are organized by foundations such as CBCF. I have been involved in cancer research since my first year at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. Some of the research projects that I have been involved in were supported by Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation grants. Participating in a run like this and raising funds for the CBCF is my way to give back to the foundation."

This year, Post Secondary Challenge participants from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta and MacEwan ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ won nine of the 15 awards given to students across Canada. They helped to collectively raise almost $500,000 for the cause.

"I would like to congratulate the 2013 CIBC Education Award recipients, and all students participating in the Post Secondary Challenge across Canada, for your fundraising efforts and dedication to finding a cure for breast cancer," says Mark Galbraith, Region Head, Alberta, CIBC. "You inspire hope that the legacy of the CIBC Run for the Cure will continue through the compassion, determination and strong leadership of future generations."

To view full results of the 2013 Post Secondary Challenge, visit www.runforthecure.com/psc.

U of L student top fundraiser

trevor.kenney — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 22:49:21 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's Devynn Helischauer is the top Alberta student fundraiser in the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure Post Secondary Challenge.

The challenge inspired Canada's college and university students and faculty to raise more than $500,000 for breast cancer research, education, awareness and advocacy.

Helischauer, who raised $4,000 during the challenge as part of team Treasured Chests, won a $2,500 CIBC Education Award to help with her tuition expenses.

Fellow ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge student Anna Kovalchuk and Ken Soong from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta were also named among the top national fundraisers to win a CIBC Education Award in 2012.

"I was honoured and shocked to receive this award as this cause is close to my heart," says Helischauer. "My mom and grandma have breast cancer and I am glad I can make a difference. This is very helpful to me as it can support my education costs."

"CIBC was very proud to present the Post Secondary Challenge," says Mark Galbraith, vice-president, Alberta, CIBC. "Our goal is to raise breast cancer awareness among Canada's students and motivate as many young people as possible to raise funds that will make a difference in the lives of those living with breast cancer. Congratulations to the CIBC Education Award winners and thank you to all of the students who together raised more than half a million dollars."

Kovalchuk has been a consistent participant in the Run for the Cure.

"I've been participating in the CIBC Run for the Cure for the past few years and I had a great experience doing the Post Secondary Challenge last year," she says. "A scholarship was a great motivator for my fundraising! I volunteer and fundraise for the cause with the hopes that I never will have a personal connection to it."

Kovalchuk in prestigious company

trevor.kenney — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 17:00:47 +0000

Dr. Olga Kovalchuk, an internationally-respected biological sciences and epigenetics researcher at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, can now add Recipient of Canada's Top 40 Under 40^TM to her already long list of accomplishments.

She recently returned from a three-day trip to Toronto and an action-packed series of award presentations, networking and professional development events as a member of a very unique group of people who come from all walks of life, but had much to share with each other.

"It was quite amazing," says Kovalchuk. "There were people there from all types of business, healthcare, research and other organizations who are all very interesting and have inspirational stories to tell. This is a pretty unique club to be a part of, and by the end of our time together we were all quite close. It has a really well connected alumni network, so I expect to stay in touch with them."

Dr. Olga Kovalchuk is a leader in the field of cancer research.

Dr. Olga Kovalchuk is recognized as one of Canada's most influential people.

Kovalchuk is characteristically modest about her own work, which landed her in the Top 40 group in the first place.

Her research focuses on the effects of long-term exposure to radiation, and how that exposure changes cellular and molecular structures in animals and people.

Since 1995, Kovalchuk, who is also a medical doctor, has been involved in the detailed analysis of the genetic consequences of the Chernobyl accident in Ukraine, and is currently researching the mechanisms by which radiation induces cancer.

She was one of seven Albertans and five women among the award recipients.

"This is an outstanding award for Olga, the members of her lab team, for her research collaborators here and throughout the world – and for our ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ," says U of L president Dr. Bill Cade.

"Olga has worked very hard to bring new research and new programs to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and has influenced countless young researchers. With her husband and research collaborator Dr. Igor Kovalchuk – both board of governors Research Chairs here at the U of L – they have brought new people with a wealth of international talent to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community. It is an understatement to say that we are extremely proud of her achievement."

Kovalchuk says part of the activity included a day-long session called the Top 40 Institute, where the award recipients received some high-end advice from business and government leaders. During breaks in the session, the participants had to stand up and deliver a brief pitch about themselves, their work, and what inspired them.

"In addition to my research, I talked lot about my family – my parents, who were ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ – my husband Igor, with who I have collaborated for many years, and my daughter Anna, who has inspired me to be a good role model as a parent," says Kovalchuk.

She is now turning her attention to ongoing research projects, and furthering academic and public interest in the epigenetics research group that she and numerous U of L research partners are working on.

They recently hosted a symposium in Lethbridge to bring together even more researchers interested in epigenetics which she hopes will spawn even more projects – some which weren't even on her radar before the top 40 awards.

"I met a medical researcher who is interested in how radiation affects the heart and veins, and other parts of the circulatory system," she says. "We are very interested in talking about how we can apply our epigenetics work to his projects and how I can learn from him."

UNews - Anna Kovalchuk

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