During medical school she investigated host-pathogen interactions of HIV. Her postdoctoral work centered on on primate genomics with focus on mobile elements (e.g. how genomes evolve with respect to mobile elements and how mobile elements evolve). Over the last decade, Dr. Konkel has been a member of ten genome consortia and the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study. Here at Clemson, her research interests encompass utilizing both scientific and medical expertise to extend toward precision medicine with emphasis on multifactorial diseases. Toward this Dr. Konkel is interested in the genetics of pre-term birth and preeclampsia.