She is a board-certified specialist in dental public health, and attended the University of Iowa for her dental and specialty training. Her research at the Public Policy Center is focused on the effects of health care reform on dentistry and access to dental care, as well as dental workforce trends in Iowa. She also co-teaches a service-learning course that includes oral health promotion activities in central Mexico, and she is a dentist at the Geriatric and Special Needs Clinic and the Faculty General Practice Clinic at the College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics.