Dr. Powell joined the HonorHealth Research Institute in 2025 as the Director of Research Program Management at the newly established Center for Translational Science. In this role, she leads strategic initiatives to promote growth, operational excellence, and financial sustainability, strengthening the Institute’s research impact and competitive edge across its translational science programs.
Dr. Powell brings over 15 years of expertise in research management, program development, and scientific communications, driving growth in translational and clinical research programs. Her experience spans academia, non-profits, and biotech startups. Most recently, as Director of Research Division Administration at the Translational Genomics Research Institute, she advanced enterprise-wide precision medicine initiatives through competitive funding and strategic partnerships with leading academic institutions, health systems, and industry. She has also advised biotech startups on funding strategies and grant development to bridge gaps in early-stage drug development.
Trained as a molecular toxicologist, Dr. Powell studied genetic and genomic approaches to biomarker development and contributed to national consortia establishing standards and quality controls to facilitate regulatory adoption of genomic tools. She earned her Ph.D. in Toxicology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and completed postdoctoral fellowships in genetics and quantitative genetics at UNC and North Carolina State University.