Humans of HBI

Not many PhD students, postdocs or other researchers have the time to learn and master every single technique required for a complex imaging experiment, so I do that. I am the expert in specific techniques and take care of parts of their experiments for them. Then I give them the results and they analyze it and get the data that they need.

I work to make STEM education more inclusive and equitable to support the success of all trainees. In my role I lead educational programs to promote diversity in STEM, I teach and mentor students ranging from high school through graduate and medical school, and I work with colleagues to establish policies and implement practices that promote equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging (EDIB) in the Harvard neuroscience and graduate education communities.

I study how the developing brain and social experiences interact in ways that increase risk for mental health problems during adolescence, a period of heightened vulnerability. Specifically, I examine how adolescents typically process social experiences, how differences in social processing can increase risk for mental health issues, and how we can leverage social factors to promote resilience in the face of social stress.

I study how humans learn and make decisions under limited cognitive resources, and how our brains allocate these resources to solve everyday problems.

I’m fascinated by how people learn to detect, interpret, and respond to threat in ways that are relevant to mental health. As a clinical psychologist and affective neuroscientist, I train both as a researcher and as a clinician.