Education

Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark

M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark

M.S. in Plant Biology and Ecology, Michigan State University

B.Sc. in Zoology from Michigan State University

Background

Dr. Khara Grieger is currently an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in Environmental Health & Risk Assessment. She currently serves as Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-PI of federally-funded grants focused on investigating potential risks and impacts of new technologies and developing sustainable, responsible, and inclusive solutions. For instance, she currently serves as PI of a USDA/NIFA-funded grant that investigates risks and societal impacts of nanotechnology and genetic engineering in food and agriculture. She also serves as Co-PI and Co-Director of Knowledge Transfer for a NSF-funded Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability (STEPS) Center housed at NC State. In addition, she serves as Co-PI in a NC State-funded GRIP4PSI project that develops new technologies for use in the sweetpotato industry in North Carolina (Sweet-APPS) in which she leads the stakeholder engagement efforts, and Co-PI on a NSF-funded grant that focuses on governance of climate management technologies. Further, she is an Executive Committee member of the Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Center, member of the Center for Human Health and the Environment (CHHE) at NC State, Councilor for the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA), and President of the Research Triangle chapter of SRA.

To date, she has published more than 70 peer-reviewed journal articles and 12 book chapters on aspects of risk analysis, risk assessment, risk governance, decision-making, and stakeholder engagement in complex contexts of emerging technologies, advanced materials, and/or emerging risks. She has received numerous awards for her work, including NC State’s Goodnight Early Career Innovator Award (2021), Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network Collaborative Award (2018), and American Society of Civil Engineers State-of-the-Art Civil Engineering Award (2017) among others.

Prior to joining Applied Ecology, she served as a Senior Research Scholar in the GES Center from March 2019 through June 2020. She also was a Senior Environmental Research Scientist at RTI International in the Health and Environmental Risk Analysis program (2012-2019), a Duke University Scholar (2017-2018), and Adjunct Professor at Meredith College (2014).

Grants & Projects

• Grieger, K.D. (PI). Interdisciplinary Approaches to Evaluate Societal Implications and Foster Sustainability of Genetic Engineering and Nanotechnology in Food and Agriculture. USDA/NIFA. Funded, $649,515. January 2022-January 2026
• Grieger, K.D. (Co-PI). Cultivating A Resilient Workforce By Integrating A Culturally Competent Community of Scholarship & Data Science in Food & Agricultural Research. USDA/NIFA. Funded, $238,500 (PI = Jones, D.). 2021-2026.
• Grieger, K.D. (Co-PI). Implications of Solar Radiation Management for Strategic Behavior and Climate Governance. NSF. Funded, $565,872 (PI=Borsuk). April 2020-March 2024
• Improving Crop Productivity and Value Through Heterogeneous Data Integration, Analytics, and Decision Support Platforms. Game-Changing Research Incentive Program. NC State University. Funded, $550,000 (Williams = PI). February 2020 – June 2024.
• Grieger, K.D. (Co-PI). Biotechnology Risk Assessment Grant Program Conference grant. USDA/NIFA. Funded, $25,000 (PI = Barnhill-Dilling). September 2020-September 2022.
• Grieger, K.D. (team member). Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network. NSF. Funded $5.5M (Jones = PI). 2019- 2024.
• Grieger, K.D. (PI). Social Implication and Best Practices for Responsible Innovation of Nanotechnology in Food and Agriculture. USDA/NIFA. Funded, $499,856. July 2019-January 2022.
• Grieger, K.D. (PI). Society for Risk Analysis Strategic Plan Initiative. SRA. Funded, $20,000. September 2019 – February 2022 Grieger, K.D. (Co-PI).
• Grieger, K.D. (Co-PI). Game-Changing Research Incentive Program. NC State University – RTI International. Funded, $650,000 (Jones = PI). 2017-2020

Awards

• 2024, STEPS Center Broadening Participation Medal
• 2021, Goodnight Early Career Innovator Award, NC State
• 2018, Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network (RTNN) Collaborative Award
• 2018, HOT paper selection for Environmental Science: Nano
• 2017, American Society of Civil Engineers State-of-the-Art Civil Engineering Award
• 2013-2017, Highly Published Author Award, RTI International
• 2014, 2017, Highly Cited Author Award, RTI International
• 2014, Professional Development Award, RTI International
• 2013, Early Career Award, RTI International
• 2011, Best Young Scientist Prize, Integ-Risk and Society for Risk Analysis