Kara B Pappas, MD

Biographical Statement

Kara Pappas, MD grew up in Dearborn, Michigan where she decided at a young age that she wanted to be a geneticist.  She attended Johns Hopkins University, receiving a BA in Behavioral Biology, and began working with physicians at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine researching chromosome disorders and hereditary endocrine disorders.  She went on to complete her medical degree at Wayne State University School of Medicine. 

She then completed her pediatric residency at the Los Angeles County-University of Southern California hospital. She continued to study genetics and learn research protocols for treating patients with rare disease.

She pursued a second residency in Clinical Genetics at the Detroit Medical Center/Wayne State University program.  She became interested in inborn errors of metabolism and decided to further specialize, completing a fellowship in Biochemical Genetics at the Detroit Medical Center.  She has published multiple articles and book chapters involving patients with newborn screening, neonatal seizures, and other rare cases.

As genetic conditions can affect someone throughout their lifetime, more recently she has become interested in adult genetic disorders including hereditary cancer and hereditary cardiac conditions.

Care Philosophy

My goal is to help people understand their genetic risk factors and how we can use that information to improve and guide their health care. I also advocate for sharing genetic information if possible, to help family members understand their own risks and testing options.