About
Education
Graduated May 2020
Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology
Thesis: Altered functional connectivity during working memory performance in older adults following low-level laser therapy
Graduated April 2017
Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience
Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy
Minor in Chemistry
Research Experience
August 2021 — Present
Research Assistant | Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems (TBIMS)
I collaborate with TBIMS researchers to investigate how the social drivers of health and psychosocial factors influence health outcomes after moderate-to-severe TBI.
Graduate Research Assistant | UT Clinical Neuroscience Lab
I collected and analyzed neuropsychological and neuroimaging data to study the effects of transcranial laser therapy on cognitive performance in adults with and without mild cognitive impairment, involving 10 visits with laser therapy, cognitive tests, and physical health measures.
Undergraduate Research Assistant | CI Therapy Research Group
I administered constraint-induced biofeedback therapy to an individual with motor complete tetraplegia, analyzing training data to assess recovery; I validated a neuroimaging pipeline by comparing longitudinal MRI results to simulated post-treatment changes; and I analyzed MRI data for a study on improving hand function in individuals with multiple sclerosis.
Core Values
Structural Drivers of Health Inequity
Brain injury does not occur in a vacuum, and neither does recovery. A person's health trajectory is shaped long before and long after any single injury by the individual's place of residence, the resources they can leverage, and the systems they must navigate. I study health as a function of structural conditions rather than individual circumstances. Using social drivers of health, administrative data, and geospatial methodologies, my work identifies where health disparities originate and how systems can be redesigned to distribute health more equitably.
Brain Injury at the Intersection of Health and Justice
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is dramatically overrepresented among justice-involved individuals, with meta-analytic estimates placing lifetime prevalence around 50-60% among incarcerated adults—far exceeding general population rates. Yet this population is routinely excluded from rehabilitation research, systematically unaddressed by clinical screening, and left without specialized care, even as untreated TBI correlates with increased disciplinary infractions and higher recidivism. My research centers on the intersection of health and justice systems—examining how unaddressed neurotrauma, criminalization, and structural neglect compound one another, and designing population-level interventions to interrupt these cycles rather than reinforce them.
Integrity and Transparency
I believe that scientific progress is built on trust, reproducibility, and open collaboration. To uphold these values, I provide written tutorials on my blog detailing the methodologies and R code I've used to analyze data in my past research, ensuring that others can replicate, critique, and build upon my work. My goal is to foster accountability and contribute to a culture of openness that accelerates meaningful advancements in the field through the prioritization of clear reporting and accessible research practices.
Knowledge Translation and Policy Impact
Epidemiological data is only as powerful as its reach. I write to translate complex quantitative findings into tools for real-world change—reshaping healthcare in re-entry and equipping advocates to push for reform. Ultimately, my aim is for research to extend far past publication: influencing surveillance systems, shaping legislation, and transforming the everyday decisions that determine whether members of underserved populations—including those living with brain injuries—are seen or forgotten.