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    Canada Research Chair

  • Portrait of Zulma Rueda.
  • Associate professor

    Max Rady College of Medicine
    Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
    Room 512 – 745 Bannatyne Ave.
    University of Manitoba
    Winnipeg, Manitoba R3E 0J9

    zulma.rueda@umanitoba.ca
    Fax: 204-789-3926
    Website
    Twitter: @zulma_rueda

Accepting graduate students

Keywords

Research affiliations

Canada Research Chair in Sexually Transmitted Infection – Resistance and Control, University of Manitoba

Research groups

Research summary

Dr. Rueda focuses on:

  1. identifying biomarkers for latent tuberculosis diagnosis
  2. understanding risk, markers of exposure and TB progression among HIV infected individuals
  3. epidemiological and statistical methods to understand disease acquisition and progression

This is achieved by developing analytical methods that combine epidemiological, clinical, other sexually transmissible and blood-borne infections (STBBI) coinfections, behaviors, environmental variables, and biological data (immune markers and omics-proteome, genomics, gene expression and microbiome) to understand the interaction between those variables in the “exposome” (which is the genetic and non-genetic exposure data).

Biography

Dr. Zulma Rueda is an associate professor in medical microbiology and infectious diseases at the University of Manitoba.

Dr. Rueda is a clinician-epidemiologist and innovator who has adapted statistical tools to answer complex questions, developed and tested new statistical approaches to handle complex biological data, optimized data pretreatment prior to multivariate analysis, and applied new statistical methods to understand the exposome in TB and HIV.

Dr. Rueda’s research focuses on identifying biomarkers for latent tuberculosis diagnosis, and the interaction between HIV and TB. Dr. Rueda’s group has already identified HLA alleles associated with disease progression of HIV and immune markers predicting poor immune response to antiretroviral therapy. She also identified the risk factors associated with TB acquisition in prisons and the paths of transmission to the community.

Dr. Rueda received an award from the Colombian Penitentiary System for her research work and commitment to translate the research findings about TB in prisons to improve and control the transmission of this disease.

Dr. Rueda has published 49 papers and six book chapters. Of those 42 peer reviewed research contributions, eight are first authorships and are seven senior authorships where her students appear as first authors.

Dr. Rueda participates as a scientific reviewer for 10 scientific journals. She is the recipient of four project grants as a principal investigator (funding obtained: $263,234 CAD), and 14 project grants as co-investigator (funding obtained: approximately $3,948,511 CAD).

Additionally, she has successfully trained one PhD student, six master students, one internal medicine resident and one infectious diseases fellow, and currently has three PhD students, one master’s student and 11 medical students pursuing research under her tutelage.

Dr. Rueda has contributed to international and public health research by serving as a senior mentor for a global partnership by the Special Programme for Operational Research Training in HIV and TB (TDR) at the World Health Organization. She has been invited to teach and mentor employees of TB and/or HIV care programs in Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Iraq and China.

Finally, Dr. Rueda was elected as a member of the Colombian Public Entity (INVIMA), which is the equivalent of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Education

  • PhD in Epidemiology (highest distinction for a PhD thesis), Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia (2014)
  • Physician, Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia (2006)

Awards

  • Canada Research Chair Tier 2 (2020)
  • Distinguished Service Special Category (Servicios Distinguidos Categoría Especial Primera Vez) awarded by the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute. Awarded for contributions to the health of prisoners in Antioquia Colombia. (2014)
  • Summa cum laude “with highest praise” for her Ph.D. thesis, awarded to approximate to top 1% based on set of criteria, most importantly potential contribution to health. Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia (2014) 
  • Scholarship. PhD trainee. The CIHR International Infectious Disease & Global Health Training Program, University of Manitoba (2009)
  • Scholarship. PhD student. Colciencias (Colombian Administrative Department of Science, Technology and Innovation) (2009)
  • Winner Project “Centro Especializado de Diagnóstico en Infecciones Respiratorias (CEDIR)” [Award New Enterprises from research results]. Municipality of Medellín and Center of Science and Technology of Antioquia, Colombia (2008)
  • Best student of medicine. Universidad de Antioquia, Faculty of Medicine, Colombia (2005)

Learn more

Contact us

Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Max Rady College of Medicine
Room 543 - 745 Bannatyne Avenue
University of Manitoba (Bannatyne campus)
Winnipeg, MB R3E 0J9 Canada

204-789-3299
204-789-3926