She received her MS (1998) and PhD (2000) in social and health psychology from Rutgers University, her MS (2002) in genetic counseling from Indiana University, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in cancer control and behavioral science at the University of Kentucky (2002-2004). Before joining West Virginia University, Dr. Kelly was a member of the Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology, and Medical Genetics, and was also affiliated with the Department of Psychology, Health Behavior and Health Promotion in the College of Public Health, the Primary Care Research Institute, and the Comprehensive Cancer Center at The Ohio State University.