Brief Bio

Dr. Kornelsen completed her PhD in Physiology at the University of Manitoba’s satellite campus at the National Research Council Canada. Based in the Department of Magnetic Resonance Technology, her dissertation focused on the development of functional imaging of the spinal cord. Dr. Kornelsen completed her postdoctoral training in the Department of Anesthesia at Stanford University, gaining experience in pain neuroimaging research. In her current faculty position in the Department of Radiology at the University of Manitoba, Dr. Kornelsen draws from her interdisciplinary academic background to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying the affective and sensory-motor processes that interact to produce human behaviour.

Research Directions

In my lab, we aim to assess how disease and psychiatric comorbidity contribute to changes in brain structure and function using high-resolution anatomical, task-based and resting state functional MRI data. Currently, we are studying the changes associated with depression and anxiety in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, including Multiple Sclerosis (funded by Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (funded by Crohn’s and Colitis Canada).We are also using functional MRI to examine how positive and negative emotions are related to neuronal activity in the spinal cord. Current research aims to identify changes in spinal cord and brain neuronal activity associated with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (funded by NSERC).

Publications