Karen Farris received her BS in pharmacy from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and her doctorate from U-M, with training in pharmacy, social psychology, and health behavior. Her research and teaching focus on social theories to examine how individuals manage medications and how pharmacists in oncology and primary care settings influence medication use. She studies individuals’ medication adherence, reasons for non-adherence, including concern and necessity beliefs, and self-reporting adverse effects. She has quantified the impact of pharmacists’ care on medication adherence and health outcomes. With colleagues, her most recent work has been with the Michigan Oncology Quality Consortium and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Farris has served on NIH study sections for Small Business Innovation Research; Risk, Prevention and Health Behavior Review; and Healthcare Delivery and Methodologies. She is an active member in the American Pharmacists Association, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, American College of Clinical Pharmacy, and Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association. She received the Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research (MICHR) Distinguished Clinical and Translational Research Mentor Award in 2016, was named Outstanding Graduate Student Mentor in Biological and Life Sciences at the University of Iowa in 2007, and APhA Fellow in 2006. She is the Executive Vice-President of The Rho Chi Society, the national honor society for pharmacy. #rhochiforlife