Karen Guillemin, Ph.D. is an American

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Ancient Greek, Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of Microorganism, microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, f ...

known for her work on the role of bacteria in influencing animal development and health. She trained with renowned microbiologist

Stanley Falkow Stanley "Stan" Falkow (January 24, 1934 – May 5, 2018) was an American microbiologist and a professor of microbiology at Georgetown University, University of Washington, and Stanford University School of Medicine. Falkow is known as the father ...

, studying how the stomach bacterium ''

Helicobacter pylori ''Helicobacter pylori'', previously known as ''Campylobacter pylori'', is a gram-negative, microaerophilic, spiral (helical) bacterium usually found in the stomach. Its helical shape (from which the genus name, helicobacter, derives) is though ...

'' interacts with gastric epithelial cells. She joined the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

faculty in 2001, where she continued her work on ''H. pylori'' and gained widespread recognition for developing

zebrafish The zebrafish (''Danio rerio'') is a freshwater fish belonging to the minnow family ( Cyprinidae) of the order Cypriniformes. Native to South Asia, it is a popular aquarium fish, frequently sold under the trade name zebra danio (and thus often ...

as a model organism to study the effects of the

microbiome A microbiome () is the community of microorganisms that can usually be found living together in any given habitat. It was defined more precisely in 1988 by Whipps ''et al.'' as "a characteristic microbial community occupying a reasonably well ...

on animal development and health. In 2012, she co-founded th
Microbial Ecology and Theory of Animals (META) Center
for Host-Microbe Systems Biology. She currently serves as the Phillip H. Knight Chair and Professor of Biology in the Institute of Molecular Biology at the University of Oregon and has published over 100 scientific papers.

Honors and awards

In 2015, Guillemin was named as a Senior Fellow of the

Canadian Institute for Advanced Research The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) is a Canadian-based global research organization that brings together teams of top researchers from around the world to address important and complex questions. It was founded in 1982 and is s ...

, Humans & the Microbiome Program. In 2016, Guillemin was elected as a fellow of the

American Academy of Microbiology The American Society for Microbiology (ASM), originally the Society of American Bacteriologists, is a professional organization for scientists who study viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa as well as other aspects of microbiology. It wa ...

. She was elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

and

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

in 2020.

Family

Karen Guillemin is a daughter of

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

math professor

Victor Guillemin Victor William Guillemin (born 1937 in Boston) is an American mathematician working in the field of symplectic geometry, who has also made contributions to the fields of microlocal analysis, spectral theory, and mathematical physics. He is a ten ...

, a great-niece of deceased MIT electrical-engineering professor Ernst Guillemin, and a niece of deceased street artist Robert Charles Guillemin.

References

External links

University of Oregon page

CIFAR page

ZFIN

AMACAD page

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guillemin, Karen Living people American bacteriologists American women scientists Women molecular biologists Stanford University alumni Harvard University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) University of Oregon faculty American women academics 21st-century American women