2025 Post-Doctoral Fellowship Awardee Karli Swenson, PhD, MPH

Fellowship Awardee
Dr. Karli Swenson, PhD, MPH, is a postdoctoral fellow in pediatric endocrinology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and Children's Hospital Colorado.

Project Title: Understanding Fetal Development and Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Children with Sex Chromosome Aneuploidies 

Summary: Dr. Swenson’s research focuses on improving the health of individuals with sex chromosome aneuploidies through patient-centered clinical research, rare disease registries, and translational studies spanning prenatal life through adulthood. 

Dr. Swenson earned her PhD in integrative physiology and her master of public health from the University of Colorado and has a background in developmental physiology, perinatal health, and bioethics. She has led and collaborated on projects examining perinatal substance use, neurodevelopment, sex differences, cardiometabolic health, and has worked with rare genetic conditions. She works closely with patient advocacy organizations, clinicians, and families to ensure research priorities reflect the needs and experiences of the communities they serve.

As part of the NASCARR initiative, Dr. Swenson is committed to strengthening collaborative rare disease research networks, expanding meaningful engagement, and accelerating the translation of research findings into improved clinical care. She will begin medical school at the University of Colorado in 2026, with the long-term goal of becoming a physician-scientist specializing in obstetrics and translational research.