Her research has identified subtype-specific biomarkers for early detection, prognostication, and personalized therapies in gynecologic malignancies.
[3] Upon graduating with her medical degree, Karlan completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Yale New Haven Hospital, a research fellowship in molecular biology at Yale Medical School, and her clinical fellowship in gynecologic oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
She collaborated with professors at the University of Toronto so study how often the BRCA1 gene was abnormal in women of Ashkenazi descent who had already developed ovarian cancer.
[11] Beyond UCLA, Karlan has also been active in advocacy for women’s health, testifying before the US Congress to help to spearhead the passage of the "Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act of 2005,"[12] which was signed into law by President George W.
[22] At the start of the 2015–16 academic year, Karlan was elected to the National Academy of Medicine[23] and was later honored as a Giant of Science by the American Cancer Society.
[27] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Karlan elected vice-chair of the Harvard Board of Overseers executive committee for the final year of her six-year term.
[28] She also oversaw clinical trials at UCLA to better understand the impact and outcomes of COVID-19 in people undergoing cancer treatment.