About Me
​
Thanks for visiting my academic/scholastic website!
I am a Research Scientist in Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR) at Spring Health, a mental health solutions company that provides personalized, data-driven mental health care for employees through AI-powered assessments, therapy, coaching, and other evidence-based interventions
Previously, I was an assistant professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the Center for the Study of Health and Risk Behavior at the University of Washington - School of Medicine, where I continute to hold an affiliate faculty position. I earned my PhD from Penn State specializing in the psychology of health behavior as a dual major in Kinesiology and Clinical/Translational Science, and was a T32 predoctoral fellow in the NIDA-funded Prevention & Methodology Training Program.
I take a translational approach to my research, in that I aim to understand how social and group psychological processes relate to behavior so that we can leverage these influences to reduce harm and improve health.​
​
My Lab
​
Aside from collaborating with my wonderful colleagues (most often as lead analyst), I led two focal lines of research:​
​
1. Health Outcomes of Betting on Sports (Project HOBS):
Funded by the International Center for Responsible Gaming, my team collected lognitudinal data to better understand health correlates of sports betting, which is one of the fastest growing addictive behaviors. To date, our studies have shown that sports betting is associated with alcohol-related risks and mental health symptomology in young adults.
2. Student Health Identity Feedback Training (Project SHIFT):
Funded by the NIAAA, my team is developing an equity-focused intervention for college student alcohol use. Building upon the success of brief personalized normative feedback interventions, this project is pilot testing a new paradigm in which students can receive normative feedback from the referent groups that are most meaningful to their own personal identities.
​
