Dr. Karas was raised in Wilmington, DE and received her undergraduate education at the University of Pennsylvania.  She received her medical degree from Weill Medical College of Cornell University in 2006.  Thereafter, she stayed in New York and completed her residency in Internal Medicine and her fellowship in Cardiovascular Disease at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Medical Center.  Dr. Karas has also completed training in Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Medical Center.  During her residency and fellowship, she performed clinical research in the areas of stroke, echocardiography, and heart failure.  She has published several abstracts and papers in peer-reviewed journals and has presented her research findings at national meetings.  In 2012, Dr. Karas was awarded the American College of Cardiology Foundation/Merck Research Fellowship, during which she investigated the prognostic value of left atrial volume for the prediction of adverse cardiovascular outcomes in the Strong Heart Study.  She has now joined the Weill Cornell Medical College as a full-time faculty member of the Perkin Heart Failure Center with clinical interest in heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, and mechanical circulatory support.