Founder of 5 organizations. 15 years in microbiome research. Consistently early.

I build the frameworks that become the standard before there's a market for them.

“Well if it isn't the oracle herself! Too bad we don't have a recording of that call. And now you need to put out a 2030 trends prediction piece.”

Fred Hart · Partner at Interact

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Karen Pendergrass

— THE RECEIPTS

  • 2009Founded Paleo Foundation. Professor said there was no market. The market arrived.
  • 2020Told Fred Hart that Pepsi would put prebiotics on their cans. Pepsi confirmed 2026.
  • 2026Published Microbiome Medicine Journal, Volume I. 5 original papers on Parkinson's disease.
  • 2012First documented FMT for Celiac Disease. 4 years before the first published case study.
  • 2025Only non-PhD among 150 researchers. Invited guest at Beneficial Microbes Conference.
  • SoonHeavy metals as the next major consumer health issue. Smart toilets for biomonitoring. Phage therapy replacing antibiotics.

Work with me

Three ways, depending on what you need and how fast you need it.

Advisory

$1,500/hr

For founders, executives, and product teams who need a specific question answered by someone who's already solved it.

Book advisory

Roundtable

$75K+

Structured multi-omics sessions producing prioritized targets, testable therapeutic directions, and a published synthesis.

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Speaking

Inquiry

Conferences, panels, and podcasts. Six topics from microbial metallomics to certification systems to trend forecasting.

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Five categories I created before they had a market

Every project connects back to translating complex systems science into frameworks people can actually use.

Current thinking

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The origin story

After years of misdiagnoses, I became the first known person to undergo FMT for Celiac Disease.

DIY, because no GI would do it. Four years later, the published case study called it a breakthrough. That experience changed the trajectory of everything you see here.

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