Previous Positions

Undergraduate and Master’s Thesis Research - Towson University (2012-2016): I began to participate in independent research during my sophomore year at Towson University, while pursuing an undergraduate degree in psychology with a minor in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) studies. Working with Dr. Paul Pistell, I completed an undergraduate honors thesis which sparked further research questions. This led me to pursue a master’s degree in Experimental Psychology where I conducted my master’s thesis research in this same laboratory. The broad goals of my projects were to characterize a model of aging in C57BL/6J mice. I induced striatal damage by exposing mice to a mitochondrial toxin and then assessed differences in learning, memory and motor ability across age and exposure groups using various behavioral tasks. Completion of these projects allowed me to build foundational skills in designing experiments, analyzing data, and writing and presenting my research. I presented my undergraduate thesis work at the Hunter College Psychology Convention (March 2014) and my master’s thesis research at the Association for Psychological Science’s (APS) Conference (May 2016). Additionally, I gained invaluable laboratory experience, such as drug preparation (dose calculations, syringe preparation), behavioral testing, injections, euthanasia, perfusions, brain extraction, mouse colony husbandry, and mouse pup weaning and sexing. As a master’s student, I gained valuable mentoring experience in training undergraduate laboratory members in these techniques. Through my master’s thesis, I developed a strong interest in understanding the ways that physiological phenomena can drive behavior. 

Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Fellowship at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense (USAMRICD) (2015-2018): I pursued this scientific interest further in my ORISE fellowship at USAMRICD working with Dr. John McDonough. Dr. McDonough is a world-renowned army research psychologist whose laboratory is focused on identifying and testing novel treatments for nerve agent-induced seizures. Our experiments considered how various factors such as age, sex, and genetic background impacted treatment success in rodent models. During the ORISE fellowship, I had my first experiences working with electrophysiology data from rodents, specifically electroencephalogram (EEG) data. I became proficient in stereotaxic rat (adult and pup) and mouse EEG lead implantation surgery, data acquisition, and received training in EEG data analysis. To cultivate my ability to mentor well, I completed a training program hosted by our institute’s veterinary team to train other laboratory members to perform these surgeries. I taught our team aseptic technique, subject surgical preparation, surgical techniques, ways to troubleshoot issues, anesthesia regulation, suturing, and post-operative care. I was also entrusted to coordinate two NIH-funded projects where I prepared presentations highlighting project updates for collaborators at outside institutions and managed timelines for our laboratory to meet benchmarks. Over my three-year fellowship period, I presented four first-author poster presentations at national meetings including the Society for Toxicology and Society for Neuroscience annual conferences and co-authored 7 peer-reviewed journal articles (one co-first author). My ORISE fellowship provided training in surgical procedures and EEG data analysis, and significantly developed my laboratory management, mentorship, and scientific communication skills. 

I then pursued a PhD in the Addiction Neuroscience Graduate Program at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Under the mentorship of Drs. Christopher Lapish and Nicholas Grahame, my PhD research at IUPUI was primarily focused on the neural networks associated with binge drinking and frontloading alcohol.