She received her B.A. in Sociology from Boston College in 2000, and her Ph.D. in Women Studies from the University of Washington in 2007. Dr. McGowan completed a predoctoral fellowship in ethical, legal, and social aspects of human genetics and biotechnology at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Science, Technology and Society in Graz, Austria, and postdoctoral training in bioethics at the Center for Genetic Research Ethics and Law at Case Western Reserve University. She currently serves as an associate editor for the journal Human Reproduction.