Roth joined UNLV in 2002 as an assistant professor of anthropology. She rose through the ranks and served as chair for the Department of Anthropology from August 2012 to June 2018.

Roth has been a long-time archaeologist, leading research that focuses on hunter-gatherer adaptations to arid environments in the Southwest. Roth's current research addresses what happens to households as groups adopt agriculture, shifting both their settlement and subsistence practices. For the past 10 years, she has been excavating at pit-house period (A.D. 200–1000) sites in the Mimbres Mogollon region of Southwestern New Mexico to explore this issue. Her most recent research has been at the Harris Site, a large pit-house site in the Mimbres River Valley.

Prior to UNLV, Roth taught anthropology from 1994 to 2002 at Oregon State University.

Roth earned her master’s and doctorate degrees in anthropology and archaeology respectively from the University of Arizona. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Colorado.