Dr. Karen West is a native of Lexington, Ky. She received her DMD degree from the University of Louisville School of Dentistry in 1982, completed a General Practice Residency at the Medical College of Georgia in 1983, and received her MPH degree in Health Administration from the University of South Carolina in 1992. Dr. West also completed a certificate program in Medical Management from the Gatton School of Business at the University of Kentucky in 2000. She is a graduate of the Executive Leadership Program in Academic Medicine, Class of 1999.

A general dentist, Dr. West has spent time practicing dentistry in the private sector in Kentucky as well as public health settings in Georgia. From 1985-1990, she was the Director of the Children and Youth Clinic in Augusta, Ga. While there, she was in charge of the undergraduate curriculum in public health and community dentistry at the Medical College of Georgia where she served as a full-time faculty member. 

From 1990 until present, Dr. West has been a faculty member and an administrator at the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry and has served in a number of capacities. Her multiple roles have included:

• Clinical Team Leader
• Acting Division Chief of Public Health Dentistry
• Acting Assistant Dean for Admissions and Student Affairs.

Since 1998, Dr. West has been in charge of the Curriculum and Academic Affairs Office at the University of Kentucky where she serves as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.