Karen Arndt was named to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Karen Arndt, professor in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Biology, was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the society announced on April 22.

The academy, chartered in 1780, is both an honorary society that recognizes and celebrates the excellence of its members and an independent research center convening leaders from across disciplines, professions and perspectives to address significant challenges. Arndt joins nearly 252 members elected in this year’s class, who have distinguished themselves in academia, the arts, industry, policy, research and science.

Arndt, a National Institutes of Health Outstanding Investigator Award recipient, studies the regulation of gene expression in eukaryotes through the actions of transcription elongation factors, epigenetic modifications of chromatin and their interplay. She is passionate about mentoring graduate and undergraduate researchers alike and received a Departmental Impact Award from Pitt’s Department of Biological Sciences in 2024. Arndt received a PhD in biochemistry from the University of California at Berkeley and completed her postdoctoral studies in the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School.

She joins 27 other esteemed University of Pittsburgh colleagues previously elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, including Chancellor Joan Gabel, Chancellor Emeritus Mark Nordenberg, Avinoff Professor of Biological Sciences Jeffrey L. Brodsky, Distinguished Professor of Pathology Yuan Chang, Eberly Family Professor of Biotechnology Graham Hatfull and Distinguished Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics Patrick S. Moore.

“We celebrate the achievement of each new member and the collective breadth and depth of their excellence — this is a fitting commemoration of the nation’s 250th anniversary,” said Laurie Patton, president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. “The founding of the nation and the academy are rooted in the inextricable links between a vibrant democracy, the free pursuit of knowledge and the expansion of the public good.”

The 2026 inductees will be honored in October in Cambridge, Massachusetts.