About Me

I am a 5th-year PhD candidate at the University of Georgia studying adolescent development and risk behavior. I work with Dr. Assaf Oshri in the Youth Development Institute, using multi-level and multi-modal methods to investigate long-term implications of early life stress on neural function and externalizing psychopathology throughout adolescence.

My passion for this research is founded upon a desire to better inform services to youth and families impacted by hardship. Although it is clear that the effects of poverty, violence, abuse, neglect, and family conflict on youth development are far-reaching, many more questions remain. For example:

• What do "normative" and "non-normative" trajectories of functional brain development look like? How do we measure them? Do they have clinical significance?

• How do types or dimensions of adversity experienced in early life impact development of neural function during adolescence?

• What kinds of adversity are most frequently experienced in large, "normative" samples (versus high-risk samples)? If early adversity is not chronic or severe, are its effects still seen neurocognitively or behaviorally?

• How malleable to environmental inputs (e.g., parenting, neighborhood) are neurocognitive underpinnings of externalizing and antisocial behaviors during late childhood and adolescence?

• How can elements of parenting and neighborhood quality, structure, or function mitigate the harmful effects of early life stress on neurocognition and externalizing psychopathology?