Karen Duong-Polk

Karen Duong-Polk is Senior Lab Manager and Preclinical Scientist at Sanford Burnham Prebys, where she oversees laboratory operations and supports drug discovery programs focused on identifying new therapeutic targets. With more than a decade of laboratory management experience, Karen specializes in in vivo pharmacology and preclinical research across a range of disease areas, including neurodegenerative disorders, oncology, and cardiovascular disease. She has extensive experience managing CRO-sponsored and internal studies and working with multidisciplinary drug discovery teams from early target validation through IND-enabling studies. Karen combines strong operational leadership with deep scientific expertise to drive efficient, high-quality research in fast-paced academic and industry environments.