Dr. Karen Kelly is a research physiologist with a background in exercise, metabolic, and integrative physiology with the Warfighter Performance Department at the Naval Health Research Center (NHRC). NHRC conducts research to optimize and sustain the health, performance, resilience, and readiness of U.S. service members.

Dr. Kelly has been with NHRC since 2010 as the head of the Applied Translational Exercise and Metabolic Physiology Team within the Warfighter Performance Department. Her research focuses on undersea human performance; metabolic and physiological adaptations in extreme environments; stress physiology; physical standards and requirements for ground combat military occupational specialties; musculoskeletal injury risk and prevention; and has recently engage in a large-scale collaboration related to fatigue risk management in USMC Aviation community.  

Dr. Kelly and her staff of physiologists, engineers, statisticians, and cognitive psychologists specialize in field research. By adapting traditional laboratory practices to a field setting, she is able to provide operationally relevant feedback and information to leadership and add to the scientific body of knowledge.  Before coming to NHRC, Dr. Kelly studied obesity related diseases and was involved in numerous clinical trials at the Cleveland Clinic. 

Dr. Kelly received her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California San Diego, her master’s degree in exercise physiology from San Diego State University, and her doctoral degree in kinesiology from the University of Southern California. She had a dual appointment in pathobiology and nutrition during her three year post-doctoral fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic.