Center for
Global Health

Research Affiliate

Languages: Spanish(native), English(fluent),French (beginner)

BIO STATEMENT

Karen is an international medical doctor from Colombia with a postgraduate degree in epidemiology. She previously served as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow on the NIH-supported HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study, which examines how prenatal and early-life environmental, social, biological, and substance exposures influence child health and neurodevelopment. During this time, she also contributed to the FLOURISH Study (Following Longitudinal Outcomes to Understand, Report, Intervene, and Sustain Health for Infants, Children, and Adolescents Who Are HIV-Exposed Uninfected), where she investigated structural brain differences between HIV-exposed and unexposed neonates using head ultrasound.

Karen is currently a pediatric resident at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children. Her interests in global health center on advancing community, maternal, and child health through clinical care, research, and community engagement. She is passionate about public and global health, with a particular focus on women's and children's well-being.

Committed to promoting health equity, Karen actively engages with organizations such as Puentes de Salud and Médicos Unidos, which provide healthcare resources and support to Latinx communities in Philadelphia.

Recent Global Health Projects

1. HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study (NIH)
As a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, I contributed to the NIH-funded "HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study", the largest long-term study of early brain and child development in the United States. I managed strategic community partnerships to strengthen outreach efforts and support participant recruitment across the Philadelphia region. This work focused on engaging diverse communities to ensure equitable representation in research examining how prenatal and early-life environmental, social, biological, and substance exposures influence child development.

2. FLOURISH Study – Botswana
I collaborated on the FLOURISH (Following Longitudinal Outcomes to Understand, Report, Intervene, and Sustain Health for Infants, Children, and Adolescents Who Are HIV-Exposed Uninfected) Study, a prospective observational study led by the Botswana Harvard Health Partnership. The project aims to improve health outcomes for HIV-exposed uninfected infants, children, and adolescents in Botswana. My contributions included research on neonatal brain imaging using head ultrasound to evaluate structural differences between HIV-exposed and unexposed newborns, as well as supporting the development of an NIH grant proposal to advance the study's long-term objectives.

Publications

Sultan LR, Ramirez-Suarez KI, Schenkel SR, et al. Brain ultrasound radiomics identify textural differences in basal ganglia and white matter between full term newborns HIV-exposed uninfected and HIV-unexposed in Botswana. Early Hum Dev. 2025;210:106368. doi:10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2025.106368

Otero HJ, Miranda-Schaeubinger M, Schenkel SR, Ramirez-Suarez KI, Cerron-Vela CR, Wannasarnmetha M, et al. Feasibility of brain ultrasound performed by nurses in the evaluation of newborns who are HIV exposed in utero and uninfected: A pilot study in Botswana. Children. 2024;11(9):1039. DOI: 10.3390/children11091039

Biko DM, Ramirez-Suarez KI, Barrera CA, Banerjee A, Matsubara D, Kaplan SL, et al. Imaging of children with COVID-19: experience from a tertiary children’s hospital in the United States. Pediatr Radiol. 2021;51(2):239–47. DOI: 10.1007/s00247-020-04830-x

Last Updated: 08 July 2026