Wade majored in physics at
Bates College, graduating with honors in 2009 under the mentorship of Eric Wollman. Her undergraduate studies also included a semester at the Danish Institute for Study Abroad in Copenhagen. She continued her studies at the
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, where she completed her Ph.D. in 2015. Her dissertation,
Gravitational-wave science with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, was jointly supervised by Jolien Creighton and Xavier Siemens. She joined Kenyon College as an assistant professor of physics in 2015 and was promoted to associate professor in 2021. From 2019 to 2022 she was Harvey F. Lodish Junior Faculty Development Professor in the Natural Sciences. ==Recognition==