Karen Hansen
Graduate Student Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy
MS, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, 2006 BS, College of Idaho, 2004
Faculty Advisor: Alan Mast, MD, PhD
Mailing Address: Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy 8701 Watertown Plank Road Milwaukee, WI 53226-3548 USA
Phone: (414) 937-3886 FAX: (414) 937-6284 Email: kghansen@mcw.edu
Research Area: Thrombosis, Hemostasis and Vascular Biology
Prior to starting my education at MCW, I had the opportunity to serve as a project manager for several biopharmaceutical and medical device companies. During this time, I was fascinated by the advancing technology and creative approaches to targeting diseases. While I was challenged by my work in industry, I desired to become a leader in medicine and translational research.
Through the MSTP, MCW has provided me with the opportunity to expand my basic science knowledge and apply it directly to medicine. I was most interested in joining Dr. Alan Mast’s lab due to the mentoring I received while rotating, which continued throughout my medical school course work. The Mast Lab utilizes an array of techniques to study Tissue Factor Pathway Inhibitor (TFPI), which inhibits proteases in the very early stages of blood coagulation. I am particularly interested in studying estrogen and its effects on TFPI expression in disease states that are caused or related to intravascular blood clots.