Karin M. Hardiman, MD, PhD

Scott R. Steele, MD, FACS, FASCRS

Karin Hardiman is an Assistant Professor of Surgery and Staff Surgeon in the Division of Colorectal Surgery at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI. Karin is originally from Alabama, and received her undergraduate in biochemistry at Smith College in Massachusetts. She then underwent medical school training, and concomitantly received her master's degree and PhD in Physiology and Biophysics, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She went on to perform her General Surgery Residency training at Oregon Health and Science University, where I first came to know her. Following this, Karin stayed in Portland, completing her Colon and Rectal Surgery residency at the OHSU in 2011. She ultimately took a position as an attending colorectal surgeon at the University of Michigan where she has served in the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery and more recently the Surgical Director for the Multidisciplinary Colon and Rectal Cancer Clinic.

Karin defines what it means to be a surgical scientist. She is a busy clinician, focusing on all aspects of colorectal disease. She is also an National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded researcher, studying intratumor heterogeneity in colorectal cancer progression and treatment response, among her many funded projects. She is a member of many professional societies and serves as an ad hoc reviewer for several national peer-reviewed journals.

Karin and her husband Chandler—both Alabama natives, though met in Oregon–have two sons, Colin and Cody, who keep them busy. When not working, Karin enjoys spending time with her family, working in the garden, running, and doing yoga.

On a personal level, it has been a pleasure watching Karin grow from being an outstanding surgical resident to a bona fide rising superstar within our Society. On behalf of the readers of Clinics of Colon and Rectal Surgery, I sincerely thank Dr. Hardiman for serving as a Guest Editor and for providing us with a superb issue on translational research. I hope the readers of this journal get a much better appreciation of some of the outstanding work our members are doing to change the care and improve the outcome of our patients in the future.