Bio

I am a PhD student at the University of Arizona, working at the Arizona Canine Cognition Center and BRAY Lab. 

My research primarily focuses on answering this question: Why are our personalities and cognitive profiles unique, and what mechanisms are behind these differences? I am applying this research while studying service dogs as a clinical intervention for post-traumatic stress disorder, aiming to understand what temperament traits make a good service dog, and how hormonal profiles relate to behavior and emotion in service dogs and their human partners.

Before arriving to the University of Arizona, I earned my BA in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin, where I conducted a senior thesis on measuring temperament in pigs. I also worked with lemurs at the Duke Lemur Center in Durham, NC and at Ankoatsifaka Field Station in Western Madagascar.

I love doing public outreach and talking to people about dogs, animal behavior, service dogs, and research! Feel free to reach out if you would like to chat.