Karen Ireland was born and raised in Grants Pass, Oregon. She graduated from Gonzaga University and then the University of Oregon Medical School. After a rotating internship in Connecticut, she spent 7 months in gynecologic pathology at Johns Hopkins followed by 3 years of pathology residency at the University of Colorado Medical Center. From 1978 to 1998 she practiced surgical pathology at Oregon Health Sciences University, taught medical students, pathology residents, obstetrics/gynecology residents, and well over 100 continuing medical education courses. Karen joined Incyte Pathology in Spokane, WA, in 1998 and retired in 2009, moving to Yakima in 2010. For many years she took photos, where allowed at museums, of female figures (paintings, vases, statues, etc.) to include in her lectures. She enjoys walking/hiking, birding, traveling, camping, photography and reading.
