Karen L. Houseknecht, PhD is a nationally and internationally recognized biomedical scientist, research leader, and academic executive. She serves as Vice President for Research and Innovation at the University of New England, where she leads the university’s research enterprise and advances interdisciplinary collaboration, innovation, and strategic partnerships. A tenured Professor of Pharmacology, her NIH-funded research focuses on therapeutic discovery, mechanistic pharmacology, and translational medicine in psychiatric and metabolic diseases. A Fulbright Senior Scholar, Dr. Houseknecht has conducted research and taught internationally, including at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. She brings extensive academic and pharmaceutical industry experience, including leadership roles at Pfizer Global Research and Development, and has authored more than 70 publications and patents.