Dr. Beth Y. Karlan

Dr. Karlan leads Women’s Health Research within UCLA’s Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and directs Cancer Population Genetics at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, where she integrates clinical practice with translational discovery to advance prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of gynecologic cancers. Her laboratory and collaborative consortia work identified HE4 as an ovarian-cancer biomarker and validated its role in early detection algorithms and postoperative surveillance. She has also contributed to The Cancer Genome Atlas analyses that revealed the genomic landscape of high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma and uncovered actionable pathways now targeted in clinical trials.

 

A steadfast advocate for hereditary-cancer risk assessment, Dr. Karlan co-launched the BRCA Founder Outreach Study, which tests population-based strategies for integrating germline screening into routine care. She was appointed by the White House to the National Cancer Advisory Board, informing federal research priorities and women’s-health policy. Election to the National Academy of Medicine recognized her contributions to cancer genomics and biomarker discovery. As Editor-in-Chief of Gynecologic Oncology and Gynecologic Oncology Reports, she shapes the field’s evidence base and mentors investigators worldwide.

 

Dr. Karlan balances research leadership with patient-centered care that blends surgical and systemic therapies for complex malignancies. She collaborates with medical geneticists to personalize risk-reducing strategies, including salpingectomy with delayed oophorectomy for mutation carriers, and pioneers adaptive trial designs evaluating PARP inhibitors, immune checkpoint blockade, and novel antibody–drug conjugates in ovarian cancer. Her dedication to equitable access is reflected in congressional testimony supporting the Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act and ongoing community-based outreach in Los Angeles and beyond.