In 1999, she received a Ph.D. in nutritional anthropology from Indiana University. Dr. Pawloski was a Fulbright Scholar in 1997; during her fellowship she conducted a study examining the nutritional status, growth, and development of adolescent girls from the Segou Region in Mali, West Africa. In the summer of 2000, she built on that research by examining the growth and development of Malian adolescent immigrants living in Paris, France. Dr. Pawloski is currently conducting research concerning the impact of a nutrition intervention program among Nicaraguan adolescent girls. Dr. Pawloski has developed and is Coordinator of the Nutrition Certificate Program in the College of Nursing and Health Science at George Mason University.