I completed my undergraduate studies at SUNY Brockport, where I majored in psychology and philosophy. For my senior year, I studied abroad at the University of Oxford, where I focused on tutorials in cognitive neuroscience and the history of modern philosophy. After obtaining my B.S., I began work as a research assistant at the Mt. Hope Family Center. As a research assistant, I worked on a study examining the impact of parental conflict and at-risk environments on the cognitive, social, and emotional development of preschool children. 

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I completed a doctoral degree at the University of Texas. During my training, I developed expertise in psychometrics, behavioral genetics, and structural equation modeling. After obtaining my Ph.D., I began a post-doctoral appointment at the University of Minnesota. During this time, I also taught research methods and statistics at Augsburg University. After my postdoctoral position, I began working at Stony Brook University in the Department of Family, Population, and Preventive Medicine.

 

Recently, I have been developing statistical models of cumulative stress and social advantage and working with the World Trade Center Health Program to coordinate a U01 study of cognitive impairment in members of the FDNY who responded to the 9/11 attacks. I've also been conducting proteomic studies of PTSD, trajectory studies of psychiatric symptoms, including PTSD, depression, and psychosis, and using genetic data to conduct polygenic risk score analyses and Mendelian randomization. In sum, I strive to avoid intellectual and empirical pigeonholes by integrating methods across fields to study mental health and well-being.