Karla leads the Office of the Dean for Research’s research development and communications teams, and other programs that support the research ecosystem. She guides policies to ensure appropriate oversight and implementation while balancing the administrative impact on faculty and researchers. As a former scientist turned administrative leader, Karla has dedicated her career to research and innovation. Karla received the President’s Achievement Award for commitment to excellence and exceptional performance in 2022, and the Griffin ’23 Management Award in 2016. Karla received her doctoral degree in chemistry from the University of California-San Diego and was a postdoctoral fellow at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, focusing on protein structure and folding. Prior to joining Princeton, she was a co-founder in two start-up companies focused on developing biological drug candidates.
Areas of Responsibility
- Animal Research Communications
- Celebrate Princeton Innovation
- Drones
- Faculty Research Forum
- Innovation Funds (Collaborations Between Artists and Scientists or Engineers, New Ideas in the Humanities, New Ideas in the Social Sciences)
- Laboratory Learning Program
- Princeton Research Day
- Research Communications
- Research Development
- Responsible Conduct of Research program
Boards and Committees
- Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) Governance Board
- Cancer Institute of New Jersey Consortium Steering Committee
- Administrative Technology Committee
- Research Security Coordination Committee
- Minors on Campus Oversight Committee
- Princeton Research Data Service Advisory Committee
- Research Security Coordination Committee
- Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) Advisory Committee (Chair)
Memberships
- Council on Governmental Relations (COGR)
- Association of College and University Policy Administrators (ACUPA)
- National Organization of Research Development Professionals (NORDP)
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
- American Chemical Society (ACS)