About Me
​
Thanks for visiting my website! I am an assistant professor in the Center for the Study of Health and Risk Behavior at the University of Washington - School of Medicine. I completed my PhD at Penn State where I studied 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.
My research focuses on how groups and social influences shape individuals’ health behaviors in both constructive (e.g., physical activity) and pernicious ways (e.g., alcohol use, gambling behaviors).
I take a translational approach to my research, in that I aim to understand how social and group processes relate to behavior so that we can leverage these influences to reduce harm and improve health. I am particularly interested in studying these social influences within proximal peer networks such as sport teams and other clubs. ​
​
My Lab
​
Aside from collaborating with my wonderful colleagues (most often as lead analyst), my lab has two active lines of research:​
​
1. Health Outcomes of Betting on Sports (Project HOBS):
Funded by the International Center for Responsible Gaming, my team is collecting 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.
​
