Karen McGovern, Ph.D.

Karen McGovern has more than 20 years of small molecule drug discovery experience, leading multiple programs from the non-clinical stage to IND and clinical development. Prior to joining Ikena, Karen served as Senior Director of Biology and Pharmacology at Infinity Pharmaceuticals, where she led early discovery oncology projects including the PI3K Gamma and Hedgehog programs. Karen directed the biology and pharmacology group where the immuno-oncology approaches were established, in collaboration with academic leaders in the field, that led to key mechanistic understanding and strategies for clinical development for the PI3K gamma program. Prior to that, Karen was at Millennium Pharmaceutics in both the systems biology and anti-infective groups, including leading projects in the Pfizer-Millennium partnership. Karen received her B.S. from Boston College and earned her Ph.D. from Harvard Medical School.