SD Biotech Board of Directors Spotlight

Meet Kara McCormick, PhD
SECRETARY SD BIOTECH BOARD - SANFORD RESEARCH

Dr. Kara McCormick of Sanford Research oversees both the internal and external communications for the non-profit research arm of Sanford Health, which has a team of more than 250 researchers on staff. She earned her undergraduate degree in physical science with a Business and Chemistry Specialization from Dakota State University. Kara then pursued her Ph.D. in Basic Biomedical Sciences with a specialization in Infectious Diseases at the University of South Dakota. After graduate school, she joined Newport Labs in Worthington, MN, as a Research Scientist managing complete life-cycle vaccine development projects, from research design to product safety trials and product licensing. While at Newport Labs, a subsidiary of Sanofi and then Boehringer Ingelheim, Kara handled change management, gaining industry insight and experience working on collaborative projects throughout the region and company transitions. Most recently, she served the state of South Dakota as an Epidemiologist for the Department of Health, holding roles as a Safety Officer, Data Visualization Lead, and Education Partner during the Emergency Response to the COVID-19 pandemic. With experience in academia, industry, and government, she enjoys bringing together innovative ideas that cross multiple disciplines to support community connections and progressive developments.