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 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.

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, and Pharmacy Quality Alliance. She was named Outstanding Graduate Student Mentor in Biological and Life Sciences at the University of Iowa, in 2007, and an APhA Fellow in 2006.