Karen Arndt

Karen Arndt is a Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. Through her work, Arndt seeks to elucidate the fundamental mechanisms that control gene expression in eukaryotes. Her lab utilizes a modern mix of genetic, genomic, and biochemical approaches to understand the proteins that coordinate transcription with chromatin modification at all active genes in the genome. Arndt's research on transcription elongation and termination, and the factors involved, sheds light on various types of cancer and neurological defects. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and presented the Genetics Society of America Lee Hartwell Lecture in 2026. She has received a National Institutes of Health Outstanding Investigator Award. Arndt is dedicated to mentoring graduate and undergraduate researchers and received the Impact Award from Pitt’s Department of Biological Sciences in 2024. Arndt received a B.S. in Biochemistry from the Pennsylvania State University, a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, and performed postdoctoral studies as a Helen Hay Whitney Fellow at Harvard Medical School.