I completed my undergraduate studies at the State University of New York at Brockport, where I majored in psychology and philosophy. For my senior year, I studied abroad at the University of Oxford, focusing tutorials on cognitive neuroscience and the history of modern philosophy. After obtaining my B.S., I began work as a research assistant at the University of Rochester. As a research assistant, I worked on a study investigating the impact of parental conflict and at-risk environments on preschool children’s cognitive and emotional development. 

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I completed a doctoral degree at the University of Texas, co-advised by Dr. Elliot Tucker-Drob and Dr. K. Paige Harden. During my training, I developed expertise in psychometrics, behavioral genetics, and structural equation modeling and became a core member of the Texas Twin Project. After obtaining my Ph.D., I began a post-doctoral appointment at the University of Minnesota, working with Dr. Robert Krueger and Dr. Colin DeYoung. During this time, I also worked as a statistical consultant for the Center for Practice Transformation and 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 long-term trajectory studies of psychiatric symptoms, including PTSD, depression, and psychosis, using genetic data to conduct polygenic risk score analyses and Mendelian randomization. In summary, I strive to avoid intellectual and empirical pigeonholes by integrating methods across fields to study mental health and well-being throughout the lifespan.