Research Interests

I am interested in how stress influences sex differences in motivated behaviors. Currently, my work focuses on understanding how adolescent stress interacts with reward processes to influence natural (food) and drug reward-related behaviors in a sex-specific manner. 

Research Interests

I am deeply interested in the behavioral and neural underpinnings of motivated behaviors, and how the overlap in neural circuits engaged in voluntary physical activity and excessive alcohol intake can help inform the therapeutic potential of physical activity to treat alcohol use disorders.

Research Interests

I am interested in how drugs of abuse affect the brain and behavior in the short- and long-term. I am currently studying the role of protein translation in cue-induced motivation.

Research Interests

Broadly, I am interested in investigating and identifying adolescent vulnerability factors for  adult psychological illnesses such as addiction disorders using translational in vivo electrophysiological recordings. Using these same techniques, I am also interested in understanding the consequences of adolescent drug use on adult neural functioning.

Research Interests

My research primarily focuses on two topics: the neurotoxicity of addictive drugs and the co-occurrence of substance use disorders. Specifically, I am interested in the neurotoxic effects of methamphetamine and underlying genetic influences, and the combined effects of alcohol and methamphetamine.

Research Interests

I use multiple human neuroimaging techniques in order to understand and minimize declines in cognitive ability while we age. Currently, I am doing work to elucidate how decreasing vascular health in the brain propagates to decreased cognitive function.