Kathleen M. McKenna, MD

I am joining OHSU as a Midwesterner who trained in the East Coast. I grew up as a die-hard Cardinals fan in St. Louis, attended college in frigid Minnesota and received my MD as well as Masters in Public Health from Tufts University in Boston, MA. My interest in medicine grew out of my passion for public health. I began my career in public health with three-years as a Peace Corps community health worker in both Guatemala and the Pacific island Republic of Kiribati. There I trained extensively in international health topics and creative community solutions to major diseases. As someone who has ample experience working in grassroots community building and basic health promotion, a career in primary care has been an obvious transition. Within medicine, I have spearheaded initiatives in the fields of pediatric and adult obesity, diabetes management, nutrition, HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, as well as promotion for under- served medicine, culturally competent medicine, and primary care.