I received my Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience from the Psychology Department at Michigan State University in 2013, with Dr. Laura Smale studying how brain regions downstream of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) differ in their responses to light between nocturnal and diurnal rodents and the effect of these regions on light responsiveness. I have also  completed two postdoctoral fellowships (1) at Michigan State University under the advisement of a prominent molecular imaging specialist, Dr. Erik Shapiro, to increase my understanding of preclinical models and begin to integrate my own research ideas into biomedical research. (2) My second postdoctoral fellowship at the NIH Neuro-Oncology Branch working with Dr. Terri Armstrong to investigate the relationship between circadian rhythms and the development of hypersomnolence in patients receiving cranial irradiation both in the clinic and laboratory. I established a mouse model of radiation induced hypersomnolence, an issue observed in the primary brain tumor population, and explored the impact of treatment on the brain and behavior. was given a unique opportunity to better explore the impact of treatment on physiological sleep and circadian rhythms in patients, by writing and running a clinical trial (NCT04669574) in the branch.