Biography
Karen Pendergrass develops research and evidence systems at the intersection of food contaminants, trace metals, and the microbiome. She is the founder and standards architect of the Institute of Contaminant Standards and the architect of the Heavy Metal Index.
Her work on the Index brings together contaminant-occurrence literature, exposure pathways, regulatory evidence, and research synthesis. The aim is to make findings traceable to their sources and revisions, so readers can inspect both the evidence and its limits.
She also founded Paleo Foundation, Microbiome Medicine, and WikiBiome. Her broader research examines how metal availability and microbial ecology interact, connecting food exposure with questions in microbiome medicine. Public researcher record ↗
Research focus
Work history
Dates and employment roles follow her public ORCID record. WikiBiome identifies her role on its About page.
Public works
Selected works relevant to the Heavy Metal Index. DOI links open the deposited record; publication types follow the linked WikiBiome research records.
View all public works on ORCID ↗ · Explore the works connected to WikiBiome ↗
Heavy Metal Index syntheses
These DOI-bearing reports connect individual studies into broader findings. Each report provides its underlying references and a version history.
Browse the synthesis evidence library →
Editorial context
Pendergrass’s affiliations span research and certification organizations. The Heavy Metal Index is an independent literature reference operated by the Institute of Contaminant Standards. Its evidence pages are separate from certification decisions and do not endorse individual brands. See About the Index and the methodology for the site’s scope and editorial approach.