Welcome to my website! I am a neuroscientist by training and now work in postdoctoral affairs, seeking to elevate and illuminate the critical role postdoctoral scholars play supporting the research enterprise and beyond.
Currently, I am leading the formation of an Office of Postdoctoral Affairs at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). Working within the Office of Research and Innovation, I seek to support postdoctoral associates across the institution and make Virginia Tech a destination for postdoctoral training.
Read more about my new position in this VTX News piece.
Previously, I served as Postdoctoral Affairs Program Manager in The Graduate School at North Carolina State University from January 2019 to January 2022.
Read more about this career transition in my NIH BEST Blog here and follow my other Blog pieces here.
Read more about my new position in this VTX News piece.
Previously, I served as Postdoctoral Affairs Program Manager in The Graduate School at North Carolina State University from January 2019 to January 2022.
Read more about this career transition in my NIH BEST Blog here and follow my other Blog pieces here.
Research Training & Interests
Dopamine (DA) Molecule 
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I am generally interested in individual differences in biology that ultimately affect a variety of reward and decision making behaviors. I have trained in behavioral genetic and neuroimaging techniques (fMRI, PET) to better understand how choice preferences & value are encoded in the brain and the role of neural modulators (such as dopamine) in shaping these processes. Understanding value-driven choice behavior and how it can go awry has implications for why individuals make irrational choices in their daily lives and the poor, impulsive choices seen in several psychopathologies including drug addiction and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
This work naturally relates to an increased interest by the scientific & medical community in personalized medicine. I am also very interested in better understanding an evolving 21st Century scientific workforce. In my current role, I am tasked with understanding how to best empower Ph.D.-trained scientists and scholars to contribute their skills toward meaningful work in a variety of careers in academia, industry, government, or the non-profit sector. |
Education
Ph.D., Neurobiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 2014
B.S., Neuroscience, Furman University, Greenville, SC 2008