I began the University of Maryland College of Information's doctoral program in the Fall of 2023. My advisor is Dr. Beth St. Jean. I was a student in two of her courses and also worked as a grader for one of her undergraduate courses during my time in the MLIS program. I now work with her as a research assistant (more on that below).

I completed the required coursework for the doctoral program in the Fall 2024 semester and completed my pre-candidacy research, which resulted in an Integrative Paper*.  Examples of my work can be found in the Current Research & Projects and Publications & Presentations tabs. I'm currently working on my dissertation proposal, which I hope to defend in December 2026.

Although I can't give an exact date yet, I hope to complete my degree around 2028.

*As per the 2023-2024 Doctoral Handbook: "[Doctoral] students do not take comprehensive exams, but instead write an Integrative Paper that synthesizes and applies knowledge from broad areas of the information field. A committee comprised of 3-5 faculty members, a majority of whom must be members of the iSchool faculty, approves the topic and prospectus, assesses the final paper, and certifies its successful acceptance according to professional standards.[...]The paper is written after the completion of course work and must be completed and accepted before advancing to candidacy."

I have served as an instructor for INST 352 (Information User Needs and Assessment) since beginning my doctoral program in Fall 2023 until Summer I 2026. INST 352 is an undergraduate course required for students in the University of Maryland's Technology and Information Design and Information Science programs. The course examines information use by individuals, paying special attention to the relevant theories, concepts, and principles of information and information behavior. Other areas explored include methods for determining information behavior and user needs, such as accessibility issues and how information technology can be used to support individuals and their needs.

I will be instructor of record for INST 451/608Q (Consumer Health Informatics) in the Fall 2026 semester. INST 451/608Q is a dual undergraduate and graduate elective course that explores consumer health informatics, health information behavior, health literacy, and the role of information in shaping health outcomes. The course also examines health justice and equity, emphasizing how information access and related factors contribute to health disparities and strategies for promoting equitable access to health information.

My responsibilities include:

• Delivering lectures to students;

• Designing, facilitating, and moderating classroom discussions;

• Evaluating and grading students’ coursework;

• Planning and/or revising course content;

• Holding regularly scheduled office hours for students; 

• Managing Teaching Assistants and Graders.

Enrollment:

• Fall 2023: 60

• Spring 2024: 150

• Summer II 2024: 22

• Fall 2024: 143

• Spring 2025: 180

• Summer I 2025: 37

• Fall 2025: 160

• Spring 2026: 120

• Summer I 2026: 37

• Fall 2026: 23 expected (17 undergraduate + 6 graduate)

Total (incl. expected): 932

Since the spring of 2023, I have been involved as an investigator in an interdisciplinary research project called Investigating the Information Practices of COVID Long-Haulers, which is part of a greater project called the Pandemic Readiness Initiative (PRI). The PRI, which is funded by a University of Maryland Grand Challenges Impact Award, involves a variety of projects that aim to learn from human behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic to better prepare for future public health emergencies by way of social and behavioral research. 

Investigating the Information Practices of COVID Long-Haulers project aims to better understand the “…information needs, practices, and experiences of people who have long COVID (“COVID long-haulers”) in order to learn more about their COVID-related information needs, the ways in which they have gone about fulfilling these needs, and their information-related experiences. We are also investigating the various types of factors that motivated or demotivated their COVID-related information seeking and use, the types of information-related barriers they encountered, and their thoughts about an ideal information source or technology that would have been most helpful for them. Our motivation for conducting this investigation is to uncover ways that we can better prepare — specifically from an information standpoint — for future pandemics, epidemics, and personal health crises, and help to ensure that everyone has convenient access to trustworthy information that is accurate, relevant, understandable, actionable, and useful at the time when they first experience the need for it and at the time when it can be of the most use to them.”

My responsibilities include:

• Conducting one-on-one interviews with study participants;

• Verifying and correcting interview transcripts;

• Importing transcripts to software;

• Carrying out qualitative coding;

• Participating in drafting presentations and publications of findings.

Publications I have contributed to for this project can be found in the Publications & Presentations tab.