What I’m investigating

I’m interested broadly in how motivation works. Specifically, I’m interested in the neural signals and computations that underlie motivation and cognition, and how they impact our decision-making. How we respond to rewards or punishments to perform challenging tasks is a fascinating, complex process. 

I’m also interested in using my research to better understand how motivation is affected in mood and anxiety disorders, such as depression, as well as in aging. There’s a lot of overlap, for example, with Alzheimer’s disease and depression. At Brown, I work with Steve Rasmussen and Laura Stroud (both professors in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior) to study stress and mood. I would love to work at a university or in industry – anywhere I can do rigorous research with translational potential.

Why I study the brain

Neuroscience is a fascinating area of study because it demands interdisciplinary perspectives. You need a team of individuals with diverse skills and knowledge to understand how the brain works. It’s a fascinating organ. I suspect that, in my lifetime, we’ll never fully understand it. But it’s an interesting puzzle.

What I like about Carney

I love that the Carney Institute brings together scientists from so many fields. The community is very collegial and curious and open. Everyone has a common goal for understanding how the brain works. I’ve enjoyed being in this community and helping to shape this growing community. It’s been rewarding to work with my colleague Darcy Diesburg to build a space so postdocs at Carney can flourish. My hope is the next generation are equally engaged with each other, personally and professionally, and will create new ways to learn how to tackle important questions in brain science, in both health and disease.