Karen Sarmiento has been affiliated with Pontificia Universidad Javeriana since 2015 and is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiological Sciences at the School of Medicine. She teaches undergraduate courses in Medicine, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Nursing, Nutrition, and Bacteriology, as well as postgraduate courses in the Specialization and Master's program in Occupational Health and Safety.

Her research focuses on various areas of basic and applied health sciences, primarily in congenital anomalies, orphan diseases, public health, genetics, teratogens, pharmacology, clinical toxicology, and toxinology of animal venoms, including snakebite envenomation and antivenoms.

She has served as a consultant for WHO/PAHO in arbovirus epidemics (ZIKV - OROV) and has held positions at the Ministry of Health in the Toxicological Emergencies department. Additionally, she has worked as an Occupational Medical Toxicologist Consultant for SURA through the Risk Management Foundation.

Her main research interests include congenital anomalies, teratogenic substances, basic and clinical toxicology, and antivenoms. She is a co-investigator with the Latin American Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations (ECLAMC) and the Institute of Human Genetics (IGH).

Over the years, she has published a significant number of original research articles in highly reputed, peer-reviewed national and international indexed journals.