Khara Grieger

Bio

Khara Grieger is an Assistant Professor as well as Extension Specialist in Environmental Health & Risk Assessment at North Carolina State University. Her research focuses on developing best practices for risk assessment, risk analysis, and governance of emerging risks and new technologies. Her work also focuses on extending and translating complex knowledge to diverse stakeholders in order to inform decisions. Grieger currently serves as the Project Director of a USDA/NIFA-funded grant focused on understanding societal implications of nanotechnology used in food and agriculture and best practices for pursuing responsible innovation. She is also a PI for a grant funded by the Society for Risk Analysis that aims to grow and promote the field of risk science among professionals and stakeholders in North Carolina. She also serves as Co-PI for a NC State-funded grant that develops new technologies for use in the sweetpotato industry in which she leads stakeholder engagement efforts, and team member of a NSF-funded grant that investigates cooperative behavior and decisions related to climate management technologies. In addition to her research and Extension activities, Grieger serves as an Executive Committee member of the Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Center at NC State; Faculty Affiliate member for a NSF-funded training grant focused on societal implications of genetic engineering in food and agriculture sectors (AgBioFEWS); Faculty Affiliate member of the Center for Human Health and Environment at NC State; External Advisory Board member for two European projects focused on nanomaterial risk governance (SusNanoFAB, RiskGONE); US Co-Chair for US-EU Risk Management & Control Community of Research focused on nanomaterial risk governance; and member of NSF-funded Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network (RTNN) housed at NC State. She is a recent recipient of the 2020-2021 Goodnight Early Career Innovator Award at NC State for her excellence in STEM-field innovations.

Khara Grieger co-Leads STEPS Knowledge Transfer efforts, where she leverages her work in stakeholder engagement to communicate and translate academic research to diverse audiences. She works together with STEPS Theme researchers and diverse stakeholders to share knowledge and experiences, understand stakeholder needs and preferences, and co-create ideas and solutions related to technical and management solutions to phosphorus sustainability.  Grieger is also involved in Theme 3 of STEPS, including the development of social network analysis to identify and understand key stakeholder relationships as they related to phosphorus management and sustainability.

Prior to her position as Assistant Professor at NC State, she served as a Senior Research Scholar in the GES Center at NC State from 2019 – 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), Duke University Lecturer (2015-2016) where she taught Environmental Health, and Adjunct Professor at Meredith College (2014), where she taught Environmental Science and Plant Biology. She holds a PhD in Environmental Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark, where also obtained a MSc in Environmental Engineering. Prior to moving to Denmark for nearly a decade, Grieger studied at Michigan State University where she completed a MS in Plant Biology with an additional degree in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior, and a BS in Zoology.

Area(s) of Expertise

KT Co-Director