KOWALEC LAB Publications

Kowalec Lab members or affiliates are underlined
  • Nguyen TD, Meijsen JJ, Sigström R; Kuja-Halkola R, Xiong Y, Harder A, Kowalec K, Pasman JA, Scarpa C, Hörbeck E, Jonsson L, Hägg S, Mullins N, O'Connell KS, Dalman C, Helenius D, Zetterberg R, Larsson H, Lichtenstein P, Andreassen OA, Werge T, Buil A, Landén M, Sullivan PF, Lu Y. Psychotic Major Depressive Disorder: Genetic Liability within the Mood-Psychotic Disorder Spectrum. Accepted at eBioMedicine, 1/2025.
  • Peymani P, Bérard A, Winquist B, Kaul P, Sheehy O, Lavu A, Leong C, Falk J, Delaney J, Kowalec K, Ng MC, Ruth C, Aboulatta L, Alessi-Severini S, Dragan R, Derksen S, Barrett O, Shams S, Eltonsy S. (2024). Trends of Antiseizure Medication Utilization Among Pregnant People in Four Canadian Provinces from 1998 to 2023; A Study from the Canadian Mother-Child Cohort Active Surveillance Initiative (CAMCCO). Front Pharmacol, 15: 1-13. PMID: 39600367.​
  • Hu C; Vasileiou E, Salter A; Marrie RA; Kowalec K; Fitzgerald KC. (2024). Evidence of symptom specificity for depression in multiple sclerosis: a two sample Mendelian randomization study. MS and Related Disorders, 91: 1-7. PMID: 39276599.
  • Shirinbakhshmasoleh M, Aboulatta L, Leong C, Riel H, Liu K, Delaney JC, Bolton JM, Falk J, Alessi-Severini S, Eltonsy S, Kowalec K. The impact of COVID-19 public health measures on the utilization of antipsychotics in schizophrenia in Manitoba - A population-based study. Schizophr Res. 2024 Oct;272:69-76. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2024.08.004. Epub 2024 Aug 27. PMID: 39197318.
  • Kowalec K, Harder A, Dolovich C, Fitzgerald KC, Salter A, Lu Y, Bernstein CN, Bolton JM, Cutter G, Fisk JD, Gelernter J, Graff LA, Hägg S, Hitchon CA, Levey DF, Lublin FD, McKay KA, Patten S, Patki A, Stein MB, Tiwari HK, Wolinsky JS, Marrie RA. (2024). Polygenic liability for anxiety in association with comorbid anxiety in multiple sclerosis. Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology. 2024 May 7.  doi: 10.1002/acn3.52025. PMID:  38715244
  • Joyees J; Marrie RA; Bernstein CN; Bolton JM; Fisk JD; Graff LA; Hitchon C; Patten SB; Kowalec K; for the CIHR Team in Defining the Burden and Managing the Effects of Psychiatric Comorbidity in Chronic Immunoinflammatory Disease. Sex differences in elevated anxiety symptoms in multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. Frontiers Psychiatry, 10/2023.
  • Kowalec K; Fitzgerald, KC; Salter, A; Dolovich C; Harder, A; Bernstein, C; Bolton, JM; Cutter, G; Graff, LA; Hägg, S; Hitchon, CA; Lu, Y; Lublin F; McKay, K; Patten, S; Patki, A; Tiwari, HK; Wolinsky, J; Marrie, RA. Polygenicity of comorbid depression in multiple sclerosis. (2023). Neurology, 101(5). PMID: 37290970.
  • Aboulatta L, Kowalec K, Leong C, Delaney J, Falk J, Alessi-Severini S, Chateau D, Tan Q, Kearns K, Raimondi C, Lavu A, Haidar L, Vaccaro C, Eltonsy S. Association between preterm birth and stillbirth and socioeconomic disparities during COVID-19. BMJ Paediatrics Open. PMID: 36806202​.
  • Pasman J, Meijsen JJ, Haram M, Kowalec K, Harder A, Xiong Y, Nguyen TD, Jangmo A, Shorter JR, Bergstedt J, Das U, Zetterberg R, Tate A, Lichtenstein P, Larsson H, Odsbu I, Werge T, Reichborn-Kjennerud T, Andreassen OA, Sullivan PF, Buil A, Tesli M, Lu Y. Major depressive disorder in Scandinavia: A comprehensive epidemiological overview. Lancet Global Health-Europe, 03/2023.
  • Vasileiou ES, Hu C, Bernstein CN, Lublin F, Wolinsky JS, Cutter G, Sotirchos ES, Kowalec K, Salter A, Saidha S, Mowry EM, Calabresi PA, Marrie RA, Fitzgerald KC. Association of vitamin D polygenic risk scores and disease outcomes in people with multiple sclerosis. Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation,. PMID: 36418179.
  • Aboulatta L, Peymani P, Vaccaro C, Leong C, Kowalec K, Delaney J, Falk J, Alessi-Severini S, Aloud B, Eltonsy S. The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Drug Utilization Patterns in Manitoba, Canada: A Population-Based Cohort Study. PLOS One. PMID: 36441676.
  • Sigström R*, Kowalec K*, Jonsson L, Clements C, Karlsson R, Nordenskjöld A, Pålsson E, Sullivan PF, Landén M. Association between polygenic risk scores and outcome of electroconvulsive therapy. Am J Psychiatry. 2022 Nov 1;179(11):844-852. PMID: 36069021 *Shared first author.
  • Aboulatta L, Kowalec K, Delaney J, Alessi-Severini S, Leong C, Falk J, Eltonsy S. Trends of COVID-19 incidence in Manitoba and public health measures: March 2020 to March 2021. BMC Res Notes. 2022 May 10;15(1):162. PMID: 35538498 
  • Kowalec K, Salter A, Fitzgerald K, Patel M, Han J, Lu Y, Bolton J, Hitchon C, Bernstein C, Patten S, Graff LA, Marriott JJ, Marrie RA. Depressive symptom trajectories and polygenic risk scores in individuals with an immune-mediated inflammatory disease. General Hospital Psychiatry, April 2022. PMID: 35461162.
  • Song J, Yao S, Kowalec K, Lu Y, Sariaslan A, Szatkiewicz JP, Larsson H, Lichtenstein P, Hultman CM, Sullivan PF. (2022). The impact of common and rare genetic variation on cognition and schizophrenia. Mol Psych, 2022 May;27(5):2439-2447. PMID: 35379910. 
  • Leong C, Kowalec K, Eltonsy S, Bolton JM, Enns MW, Tan Q, Yogendran M, Chateau D, Delaney JA, Sareen J, Falk J, Spiwak R, Logsetty S, Alessi-Severini S. Psychotropic Medication Use Before and During COVID-19: A Population-Wide Study. Front Pharmacol. 2022 Apr 27;13:886652. PMID: 35571118.
  • Johnson D, Wilke M, Lyle S, Kowalec K, Jorgensen A, Wright GEB, Drögemöller BD. A systematic review and analysis of the use of polygenic scores in pharmacogenomics. (2021). Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2022 Apr;111(4):919-930. PMID: 34953075.
  • Nguyen TD, Harder A, Xiong Y, Kowalec K, Hägg S, Cai N, Kuja-Halkola R, Dalman C, Sullivan PF, Lu Y. Genetic heterogeneity, and subtypes of major depression. 2022 Molecular Psychiatry, 2022 Mar;27(3):1667-1675. PMID: 34997191
  • Pardiñas AF, …, Kowalec K, Sullivan PF, Murray RM, Owen MJ, MacCabe JH, O’Donovan MC, Walters JTR. Interaction testing and polygenic risk scoring to estimate the contribution of common genetic variants to treatment resistance in schizophrenia. (2021) JAMA Psychiatry, epub 12 Jan 2022.
  • ​Kowalec K, Carney H, Patel M, Hitchon C, Bolton JM, Patten SB, Graff LA, Bernstein CN, Peschken C, Marrie RA. (2021) Prevalence and risk factors of substance use disorder in rheumatoid arthritis. ACR Open Rheumatology, ePub 28 September 2021.
  • Kowalec K, Lu Y, Song J, Dalman C, Hultman C, Larsson H, Lichtenstein P, Sullivan PF. (2021) The association between family history and genomic burden with schizophrenia mortality: a Swedish population-based register and genetic sample study. Translational Psychiatry, ePub 15 March 2021.
  • Harroud A, Marrie RA, Fitzgerald K, Salter A, Lu Y, Patel M, Kowalec K. (2021) Mendelian randomization provides no evidence for a causal role in the bidirectional relationship between depression and multiple sclerosis. Mult Scler. ePub Feb 16. PMID: 33591230. 
  • Legge SE, Santoro ML, Periyasamy S, Okewole A, Arsalan A, Kowalec K. (2021) Genetic architecture of schizophrenia: a review of major advancements. Psychol Med. Feb 8;1-10. PMID: 33550997.
  • Hannon E, Dempster EL, Mansell G, Burrage J, Bass N, Bohlken MM, Corvin A, Curtis CJ, Dempster D, DiForta M, Dinan TG, Donohoe G, Gaughran F, Gill M, Gillespie A, Gunasinghe C, Hulshoff HE, Hultman C, Johansson V, Kahn RS, Kaprio J, Kenis G, Kowalec K, MacCabe J, McDonald C, McQuillin A, Morris DW, Murphy KC, Mustard C, Nenadic I, O’Donovan MC, Quattrone D, Richards AL, Rutten BPF, St-Clair D, Therman S, Toulopoulou T, Van Os J, Waddington JL, Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium 2, CREeTable AR consortium, Sullivan PF, Vassos E, Breen G, Collier DA, Murray R, Schalkwyk LS, Mill J. (2021). Large-scale analysis of DNA methylation identifies cellular alterations in blood from psychosis patients and molecular biomarkers of treatment-resistant schizophrenia. eLife. PMID: 33646943.
  • Carney H, Marrie RA, Bolton JM, Patten SB, Graff LA, Bernstein CN, Kowalec K. (2020) Prevalence and risk factors of substance use disorder in inflammatory bowel disease. Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Epub 6 February 2020. 
  • Kowalec K, Lu Y, Sariaslan A, Song J, Ploner A, Dalman C, Hultman C, Larsson H, Lichtenstein P, Sullivan PF. (2019) Increased schizophrenia family history burden and reduced premorbid IQ in treatment-resistant schizophrenia: A Swedish National register and genomic study. Molecular Psychiatry. Epub 12 November 2019.
  • Salter A, Kowalec K, Fitzgerald K, Cutter G, Marrie RA. (2020). Comorbidity is associated with disease activity in MS: Findings from the CombiRx Trial. Neurology, 95(5): e446-e456. PMID: 32554770
  • Kowalec K, Hannon E, Mansell G, Burrage J, Ori APS, Ophoff RA, Mill J, Sullivan PF. (2019). Methylation age does not predict mortality in schizophrenia. Translational Psychiatry 4(9):157. PMID: 31164630.
  • Kowalec K*, Wright GEB*, Drögemöller BD, Aminkeng F, Bhavsar AP, Kingwell E, Yoshida EM, Traboulsee A, Marrie RA, Kremenchutzky M, Campbell T, Duquette P, Chalasani N, Wadelius M, Hallberg P, Xia Z, De Jager P, Ross CJD, Tremlett H, Carleton B. (2018). Common variation near IRF6 is associated with IFN-β-induced liver injury in multiple sclerosis. Nature Genetics 50(8): 1081. PMID: 30013178. *Shared first author
  • ​McCormack M, Gui H, Ingason A, Speed D, Wright GEB, Zhang EJ, Secolin R, Yasuda C, Kwok M, Wolking S, Becker F, Rau S, Avbersek A, Heggeli K, Leu C, Depondt C, Sills GJ, Marson AG, Auce P, Brodie MJ, Francis B, Johnson MR, Koeleman BPC, Striano P, Coppola A, Zara F, Kunz WS, Sander JW, Lerche H, Klein KM, Weckhuysen S, Krenn M, Gudmundsson LJ, Stefánsson K, Krause R, Shear N, Ross CJD, Delanty N; EPIGEN Consortium, Pirmohamed M, Carleton BC; Canadian Pharmacogenomics Network for Drug Safety, Cendes F, Lopes-Cendes I, Liao WP, O'Brien TJ, Sisodiya SM, EpiPGX Consortium, Cherny S, Kwan P, Baum L, International League Against Epilepsy Consortium on Complex Epilepsies, Cavalleri GL. (2018). Genetic variation in CFH predicts phenytoin-induced maculopapular exanthema in European-descent patients. Neurology, 90(4): e332. PMID: 29288229
  • Kowalec K, McKay KA, Patten SB, Fisk JD, Evans CD, Tremlett H, Marrie RA. (2017) Comorbidity increases the risk of relapse in multiple sclerosis: A prospective study. Neurology, 89(24): 2455. PMID: 29117961
  • Kowalec K, Kingwell E, Carruthers R, Marrie RA, Traboulsee A, Bernatsky S, Ross CJD, Carleton B, Tremlett H. (2017) Application of pharmacogenomics to investigate adverse drug reactions to the disease-modifying treatments for multiple sclerosis: a case-control study protocol for dimethyl fumarate induced lymphopenia. BMJ Open, 7(5): e016276. PMID: 28576902.
  • McKay KA*, Kowalec K*, Brinkman F, Finlay BB, Horwitz M, Manges AR, Osborne L, Tremlett H. (2016) From bugs to brains: the microbiome in neurological health. MS and Related Disorders:, 12:1-3. PMID: 28283098. *Shared first author
  • Aminkeng F, Bhavsar AP, Visscher H, Rassekh SR, Li Y, Lee JW, Brunham LR, Caron HN, van Dalen EC, Kremer LC, van der Pal HJ, Amstutz U, Rieder MJ, Bernstein D, Carleton BC, Hayden MR, Ross CJD, and the Canadian Pharmacogenomics Network for Drug Safety (2015). A coding variant in RARG confers susceptibility to anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity in childhood cancer. Nat Genet; 47:1079-1084. PMID: 26237429.
  • Osiowy C, Kowalec K, Giles E. (2016) Discordant Diagnostic Results Due to a Hepatitis B Virus T123A HBsAg Mutant. Diagnos Microbiol Infect Dis. 85(3): 328-33. PMID: 27133305
  • Kowalec K, Kingwell E, Yoshida EM, Marrie RA, Kremenchutzky M, Campbell T, Wadelius M, Carleton BC, Tremlett H. (2014) Characteristics associated with drug induced liver injury from interferon beta in multiple sclerosis patients. Expert Opin Drug Saf, 13(10): 1305-17. PMID: 25134421
  • Kowalec K, Carleton BC, Tremlett, H. (2013) The potential role of pharmacogenomics in the prevention of serious adverse drug reactions in multiple sclerosis. Mult Scler Rel Dis, 2 (3): 183-192. PMID: 25877724
  • Kowalec K, Yoshida EM, Traboulsee A, Carleton BC, Tremlett H. (2013). Suspected autoimmune hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis unmasked by interferon-beta in a multiple sclerosis patient. Mult Scler Rel Dis, 2 (1): 57-59. PMID: 25877455
  • Kowalec K, Minuk GY, Børreson M, Simons B, McMahon B, and Osiowy C. (2013). Genetic diversity of hepatitis B virus genotypes B6, D and F among circumpolar indigenous individuals with various clinical outcomes. J Viral Hep, 20 (2): 122-30. PMID: 23301547
  • Minuk GY, Kowalec K, Caouette S, Larke B. and Osiowy C. (2012). The prevalence and long-term outcome of occult hepatitis B virus infections in community based populations. J Med Virol, 84 (9): 1369-75. PMID: 22825815
  • Osiowy C, Kaita K, Solar K, and Mendoza K. (2010) Hepatitis B virus molecular characterization and 9-year clinical profile in a patient infected with genotype I. J Med Virol, 82 (6): 942-8. PMID: 20419807 

Blog Entries and Podcast Episodes

  1. CBC Manitoba Future 40: Dr. Kowalec (2022)
  2. Café Scientifique - Combatting Multiple Sclerosis from Multiple Angles - May 12, 2021
  3. MS Discovery Podcast Episode #81: Dr. Kaarina Kowalec on pharmacogenomics. Published: May 17, 2016.
  4. MS Discovery Podcast Episode #80: Dr. Kaarina Kowalec on adverse MS drug reactions. Published: May 15, 2016. 
  5. Improving MS Drug Safety With Genetics - Michael Smith Foundation For Health Research. Published: November 2013.