Karen Nelson is a Jamaican-born American microbiologist (specializing in human microbiome research) who was formerly president of the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI). On July 6, 2021 she joined Thermo Fisher Scientific as Chief Scientific Officer.
Education Nelson studied her undergraduate degree at the University of the West Indies and earned a Ph.D. from Cornell University.J. Craig Venter Institute, Director (Rockville, MD Campus) American Society for Microbiology, retrieved March 27, 2015
Career and research Nelson is a prominent expert in microbial genomics and metagenomics, with applications to human health. She is noted for her research on Thermotoga maritima at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) which resulted in the publication"Evidence for lateral gene transfer between Archaea and Bacteria from genome sequence of Thermotoga maritima" Nature 399 of the genome of that bacterium, and which demonstrated the existence of horizontal gene transfer.Karen E. Nelson, Ph.D., Named Director of J. Craig Venter Institute Rockville, MD Campus PR Newswire, retrieved December 2, 2014Karen Nelson - Spelling Out Microbial Genes Microbe World, retrieved March 27, 2015 Nelson is also known for her work in human microbiome research and her current research focuses on interactions between human microbiome and various diseases. Her extensive expertise involves areas of microbial ecology, microbial genomics, microbial physiology and metagenomics, which led to her team publishing the first human microbiome study in 2006.
Nelson was appointed president of JCVI in 2012 after serving as the director of its Rockville Campus since 2010. Bloomberg Businessweek, retrieved December 1, 2014 Prior to being appointed President, she held a number of other positions at the Institute, including Director of JCVI's Rockville Campus, and Director of Human Microbiology and Metagenomics in the Department of Human Genomic Medicine at JCVI.
She has authored or co-authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications, edited three books, and has served as editor-in-chief of the journal Microbial Ecology and the open-access journal PNAS Nexus. Scientific American named Nelson as one of biotechnology's "leading lights" in its 2015 "The Worldview 100."
Boards and panels Editor in Chief, PNAS Nexus Editor in Chief, Microbial Ecology Editor in Chief, Advances in Microbial Ecology Editorial Board Member, BMC Genomics Editorial Board Member, Giga Science Editorial Board Member, Central European Journal of Biology Board Member, Board on Life Sciences, National Academy of Sciences Board Members Board on Life Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, retrieved March 27, 2015 Member, Standing Committee on Support to the DoD's Programs to Counter Biological Threats, National Research CouncilCommittee Biographies National Research Council, retrieved March 27, 2015
Professional organizations American Society for Microbiology
Honors and awards Helmholtz International Fellow Award Fellow, American Society for Microbiology ARCS Scientist of the Year (2017) Elected Member, National Academy of Sciences (2017)
References