Associate Professor, Craniofacial Medicine, Pediatrics, School of Medicine
Adjunct Associate Professor , Oral Health Sciences, School of Dentistry
Director of the Summer Institute in Clinical Dental Research Methods
University of Washington, School of Dentistry
Investigator, Seattle Children’s Research Institute’s Center
Child Health, Behavior and Development
Seattle Children’s Hospital Craniofacial Center
Christy McKinney, PhD, MPH is an Associate Professor in Craniofacial Medicine, Pediatrics in the School of Medicine and an Adjunct Associate Professor in Oral Health Sciences, School of Dentistry. Dr. McKinney is the Director of the Summer Institute in Clinical Dental Research Methods at the University of Washington, School of Dentistry. She is also an investigator in Seattle Children’s Research Institute’s Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development, and in the Seattle Children’s Hospital Craniofacial Center. She received her PhD (2006) in epidemiology from the University of Washington.
Dr. McKinney’s research interests are focused on the intersection of craniofacial, dental, and nutritional health in young children, both locally and globally. She is the principal investigator of a R01 grant from NIDCR investigating the extent to which children are exposed to the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) during dental treatment. She also spearheaded the development of the NIFTY™ cup – an infant feeding cup for infants with breastfeeding difficulties (e.g. infants with oral clefts and preterm infants) in low resource settings – collaborating with a team of multidisciplinary experts from Seattle Children’s, the University of Washington, PATH, Laerdal Global Health and Sri Ramachandra University. Dr. McKinney, along with colleague Dr. Michael Cunningham, was recently named the Inventor of the Year by the UW School of Medicine for the Nifty cup.
Dr. McKinney is engaged in teaching and mentorship at several levels. In addition to the Summer Institute, she is the Co-Director of the Institute of Translational Sciences (ITHS) KL2 Career Development program funded by NCATS, which trains career development KL2 Scholars through weekly small group sessions. She mentors DDS/PhD students, post-doctoral fellows, and pre-graduate students on a wide variety of research projects in the USA, Thailand, and Vietnam.