As a scientist, musician, and lifelong learner, I have a passion for exploring and deeply understanding a diverse range of subjects. I received a B.S. in Biological Engineering from MIT, a PhD in Neuroscience from Boston University School of Medicine, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the VA Boston Healthcare System & Harvard University. I bring a multidisciplinary perspective to my work in neuroscience and approach questions from multiple levels - biochemical to cognitive to anthropological - always seeking depth and nuance in my understanding of systems.
Currently working at Cornell University with Adam Anderson and Eve De Rosa, I am running a large study to investigate the link between locus coeruleus function, autonomic function, and cognitive aging. I use structural and functional MRI, pupillometry, neurocognitive testing, genetic analysis, and social and demographic information. In this role, I strive to generate a sense of community among my colleagues, students and research participants through ethical leadership and dedication to inclusion. My study is partnered with the Community Research Recruitment Accelerator at SUNY Upstate Medical University to foster long-term community ties with the Black community in Syracuse, and improve representation in cognitive aging research.
Outside of the lab I am also a violinist with over 20 years of experience playing orchestral and chamber repertoire. I continue to study, practice, and perform, including as 2nd violin in the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra. In my free time, I enjoy science fiction literature, vipassana meditation, cooking and baking, spending time outdoors, and raising my two spirited children with my husband. I always felt compelled to research personal interests with the same level of rigor with which I approach my work, and take special pride in questioning the cultural assumptions and cognitive biases lurking the way we think and live. I live with my family in a fossil-fuel-free solar house in Ithaca, NY. My husband and I also run a consulting business called Deep Dive Science.
