Dr. Paulson received her medical degree at West Virginia University in Morgantown, W.Va. She completed her internal medicine internship and residency at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C. Dr. Paulson completed her fellowship training in infectious diseases at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.

She is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and its Infectious Disease subspecialty. She is an author of articles published in medical journals for her research work, including work on mycobacterial infections and genetic defects leading to infection.

Dr. Paulson has medical staff privileges at Allegheny General Hospital, West Penn Hospital and Allegheny Valley Hospital and leads the general infectious disease clinic at Allegheny General Hospital.