I am an aspiring physiologist with an emphasis in neuroscience. I am a Ph.D. candidate at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, LA and will defend May 2023.

I grew up in San Diego, CA where my love of science began early in life. I pursued science during my undergraduate career and graduated with my Bachelor of Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara. As a biopsychology major, I discovered an interest in neuroscience that grew during my time as a research assistant in Dr. Karen Szumlinski’s addiction neuroscience lab. 

I now investigate sex differences in cocaine self-administration in Dr. Nicholas Gilpin’s lab in the LSUHSC Department of Physiology. I began my career in the Gilpin Lab by investigating traumatic stress, conditioned place aversion, and the neurocircuitry associated with these behaviors. This segued into my dissertation work examining the effects of stress and potential therapeutics on cocaine self-administration in males and females and the neurophysiological changes that result from and influence this behavior. 

My professional interests include translational neurophysiology research, teaching and STEM education, and behavioral neuroscience.