Research
The multidirectional relationships between people, their bodies, and their environments have wide-ranging impacts on our health. I investigate these relationships through the lenses of family, belonging, and eating behaviors. My CV includes full descriptions of my work on these projects; below, you can read about how each one has influenced my development as a scientist.
2024-present
Child Health and Behavior Lab
In August 2024, I joined the Clinical Psychology doctoral program at the University at Buffalo! I am pursuing interdisciplinary work on the interactions between young children's health behaviors and social development, mentored by Stephanie Anzman-Frasca (Pediatrics) and Julie Bowker (Psychology). Learn more about the lab at https://ubhablab.weebly.com/
Source: Lab Website
2022-2024
Source: POWERS Website
Physiology of the Weight Reduced State (POWERS)
As research coordinator, I managed and launched this multisite NIH-funded study on what occurs in people's bodies after they lose weight. While administering psychological and biological measures to participants in an outpatient hospital setting, I became interested in the role of health behaviors, particularly sleep quality and eating patterns, on wellbeing. Learn more about the study at https://www.powers-study.org/
2021-2022
Evaluating the impact of social exclusion on psychotic-like experiences
Inspired by the social psychology research I had worked on as an undergraduate, I completed this Honors Thesis to assess the impact of the social environment on psychopathology. The chronic effects of social defeat shown by the study represent the interpersonal aspect of the environments that shape our health. The thesis was modified into an article in Psychiatry Research Communications which can be read here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S277259872300048X
2019-2022
Source: Google Images
Social Cognition & Psychopathology Lab
As a research assistant for the SCP Lab, my main focus was a study to measure the impact of reading on social outcomes, administering cognitive and theory-of-mind assessments as well as a four-week reading intervention to undergraduates. My enjoyment of working with both participants and data and my growing fascination with social psychology inspired me to begin my career in research. Learn more about the reading study at https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2024-18973-001
May-August 2021
Families Learning, Interacting, and Growing Healthy Together (Project FLIGHT)
As a research assistant for FLIGHT, I performed behavioral coding on parent-child interactions to asses how interparental conflict affects parenting. This experience showed me the importance of various family relationships in children's development, especially as these relationships affect each other in context. Learn more about the study at https://www.psych.rochester.edu/MHFC/past-studies/flight/
