Karen joined UCSD in 2003 as a clinical nurse and advanced as a nurse leader, focusing on improving operations, nurse-sensitive outcomes, patient and staff experience. She helped open the Medical Oncology and Palliative Care Unit 5FG in UCSD’s Jacobs Medical Center in 2016 where she continues interdisciplinary collaborations on quality improvement initiatives, evidence-based practices and research. Karen completed her training as a Fellow for the UC San Diego Health: Sanford Compassionate Communication Academy in Fall 2024. In the same year, she was recognized as the Overall Nurse Manager of the Year, while her team was Inpatient Team of the Year in 2024 for their collaborative work on improving the inpatient experience of the older adults. In 2025, her team is recognized as Inpatient Team of the Year for their work in streamlining the off-unit chemotherapy process that improved efficiencies for chemotherapy/immunotherapy inpatient administration. She is also passionate about improving the mental health of healthcare providers and has published a qualitative study on Nurses Suicide with her research team from UCSD in 2023.  Karen is currently pursuing her PhD in Nursing Science as a third-year student at the University of California – Irvine with a focus on  nurse wellness and the study of older adult experiences in the healthcare system.