Cain is a former program director for the Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education (ORISE). She was also a chemistry teacher in a number of public and private schools.
She first joined ORNL's Physics Division while a graduate student . After working as a teacher, she worked as a program manager in ORNL's education office. Cain also served in the science education office at DOE headquarters in Oak Ridge and as a pre-college coordinator at ORNL.
Cain is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Chemical Society and the Association of Women In Science.
She earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry from North Dakota State University, master's degrees in curriculum and instruction from Florida Atlantic University and chemistry from the University of Tennessee, and a doctorate in science education from the University of Tennessee.
Cain and her husband, William, are the parents of a son, Christopher, 25, and a daughter, Pamela, 24.
ORNL, one of DOE's multiprogram national research and development facilities, is managed by Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, which also manages the Oak Ridge K-25 Site and the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant.