Dr. McKernan attended dental school at the University of Florida and received her M.S. in dental public health from the University of Iowa, where her thesis was awarded the 2010 University of Iowa L.B. Sims Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award. She completed a Ph.D. in in oral science in 2012, focusing in health services research, and is a diplomate of the American Board of Dental Public Health. Dr. McKernan is currently involved in the Public Policy Center’s evaluation of Iowa’s Medicaid expansion, where she focuses on health care workforce adequacy and utilization of preventive health services. Other ongoing research projects that she is involved with explore barriers to dental care among health disparity populations and longitudinal monitoring of state dentist workforce.