Karen Swallen MD

Karen Swallen grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota. After graduating from Yale University with a B.A. in Political Science, she moved to California to conduct smoking cessation research at the Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention. She then went on to earn an MPH in Epidemiology/Biostatistics and a Ph.D. in Demography from the University of California at Berkeley before returning to the Midwest to pursue an academic career. For more than six years she taught sociology at UW-Madison, including courses in demography, aging, and medical sociology. Ultimately, however, Karen realized that her primary goal was to make a difference at the individual level for health, so she entered medical school at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. As a medical student, she was a leader of the Dr. Mom interest group, a student organization that provides support and activities for medical students who are also parents, and also volunteered at MEDiC and in the Madison public schools. Her primary interests are in public health, preventative medicine, and the health of children and mothers. Outside of medicine, her primary interests revolve around her three children and outdoor family activities such as running, camping and biking. When she does get some time to herself, she enjoys reading and puzzles (Sudoku and Kakuro are current favorites).