Katy Christiansen

Biography

As Area Deputy, Katy Christiansen supports Biosciences ALD Paul Adams, helping to plan and execute long-range strategies to advance the Area’s scientific mission. After earning her PhD in plant science from Indiana University, Bloomington, Christiansen first joined Berkeley Lab in 2008 as a postdoctoral researcher in the plant systems biology group at JBEI. After two years as a AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the DOE Bioenergy Technologies Office, where she served as a technical adviser and assisted in development of funding opportunities, she returned to the Biosciences Area in 2014 to help lead strategic planning efforts. Her efforts resulted in direct funding from DOE that established the multimillion dollar Agile BioFoundry (ABF) and Trial Ecosystem Advancement for Microbiome Science (TEAMS) programs. As Head of the Strategic Programs Development Group (SPDG) since its inception in 2020, she now leads program development activities and strategic planning for the Area, including building new multi-institutional research programs with other national laboratories. Christiansen is also responsible for the Biosciences Strategic Plan (BSP), a 10-year scientific strategic plan that describes biosciences research aspirations in energy, environment, health, biomanufacturing, and technology development.