UT's Sofia Tomov, 14, developed software that predicts heart disease

Several years ago, Sofia Tomov read that heart disease was the No. 1 killer worldwide. Known as a “silent killer,” Sophia realized that someone with heart disease might not have any idea until they had a heart attack.

She was inspired to develop software that predicts the probability that a person has heart disease.

Thus, she founded Qardian Labs, which provides software solutions for evaluating the risk of heart disease, uses data analysis to determine the probability of heart disease and provides physicians with tools to diagnose patients and improve care.

“I believe that interesting problems are always challenging, which shapes how I try to view a challenge as an intriguing puzzle rather than an obstacle to a solution,” Sophia said.

Sophia has received international accolades for her software, including first place in medicine at the 2018 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair for her project on improving diagnoses of heart disease and was named one of Business Insider’s 15 Young Prodigies Changing the World in 2016.

“I am passionate about STEM because I am passionate about using curiosity, creativity and logical thought to solve problems,” Sophia said.

Sofia is pursuing dual enrollment at the University of Tennessee and will obtain her bachelor’s degree within a year of her high school diploma. She will then continue building Qardian Labs while pursuing her master's and plans to obtain a doctorate in computer science.

Her current science project is using deep learning to improve Alzheimer’s Disease diagnoses by analyzing brain imaging data.

“I would like to incorporate these into a predictive software suite that I can market to doctors, hospitals and urgent care centers,” Sofia said.

She is the founder of the Knoxville chapter of Project CSGirls, a national organization that encourages girls to pursue computer science. Their chapter teaches coding workshops for middle school girls.

Source: Knoxville News Sentinel, by Brenna McDermott

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Published November 1, 2018