Kara Estep

Kara provides leadership, management, and supervision within the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) enterprise in order to deliver timely, high-quality, and policy-relevant results as part of an ongoing production process for key health indicators. The GBD is the single largest epidemiological study of its kind, producing a comprehensive and comparable set of results of the impact of 380+ diseases and injuries and 80+ risk factors by age, sex, and geographic location from 1990 to present. She and her team also provide management support and facilitate learning across multiple research teams focused on Forecasting and Resource Tracking. Since joining IHME in 2013, Kara has worked in various management positions on GBD focused on project management and strategic planning. She has also been responsible for coordination for scientific governing bodies and the production of scientific publications, including GBD capstone papers.  

Prior to joining IHME, Kara earned a master’s degree at the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington (UW). She started working in research at the UW as an undergraduate student studying at Seattle Pacific University. In addition to her continued work in research at the UW and with various nonprofits in Seattle, Kara served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mongolia.