[4] McCarthy received a Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in Biology from the University of Missouri in 1981 and 1984.
[6] McCarthy's research focuses on understanding how the nervous system develops in healthy and diseased animals.
[3] McCarthy's lab discovered how male and female brains react differently to injury, which can influence their risk for neurological disorders.
[6] McCarthy was the President of the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences from 2016-2018[7] and was on the Advisory Board of eNeuro in 2019.
[9][10] She is a member of the Dana Alliance on Brain Research and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.