Karin received a MSc in Biochemistry from KU Leuven in 2005. She performed her PhD research in the lab of Molecular Cell Biology, under the supervision of Johan Thevelein (KU Leuven and VIB). During her PhD, she investigated how yeast cells respond to nutrients. After obtaining her PhD degree in 2009, she joined the VIB-KU Leuven Lab for Systems Biology, headed by prof. Kevin Verstrepen, where she used experimental evolution to investigate how yeast adapts to increasing alcohol levels and looked at the effect of alcohol on cells.

She now coordinates different research projects in the lab. She is grant officer for the groups of the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Microbiology; assisting them in grant project writing. She also coordinated the start-up of the new postgraduate in Malting and Brewing Sciences at KU Leuven and regularly participates in science communication events.