I am a postdoctoral research scholar in the College of Veterinary Medicine at North Carolina State University. I am part of The Thinking Pets Program, overseen by Dr. Margaret Gruen. Broadly, I am interested in using an evolutionary framework to understand how dogs adapted to live among humans and to understand dog aging.

Education and Background

In 2016, I graduated with a B.S. in Evolutionary Anthroplogy and Biology from Duke Univeristy. I did my honors thesis in the Nunn Lab, where I was advised by (now Dr.) Caroline Amoroso and Dr. Charlie Nunn in my research at the Duke Lemur Center. My thesis focused on the behavioral adapations lemurs have to avoid disease through their water choices.

After my undergraduate education, I spent two years working as the lab coordinator of the Duke Canine Cognition Center, directed by Dr. Brian Hare. There, I was instrumental in creating and running the Duke Puppy Kindergarten, where undergraduate student volunteers helped raise puppies to become assistance dogs. I also conducted research comparing wolf and dog cognition.

In 2019, I began my Ph.D. in the Anthropology Department at the Pennsylvania State University. My dissertation research included studying dog behavior at a local dog park and studying dog cognition through citizen science. I was advised by Dr. George "PJ" Perry, and my committee also consisted of Dr. Brian Hare, Dr. Nancy Dreschel, Dr. Laura Weyrich, and Dr. Mary Shenk. I successfully defended my Ph.D. on May 28, 2025. You can view my dissertation defense here or read my dissertation here.

Since 2025, I have worked as a postdoct at North Carolina State University's College of Veterinary Medicine. I am supervised by Dr. Margaret Gruen and am also collaborating with Dr. Natasha Olby. I am working primarily on developing a battery of questionnaires and cognitive and physical tests that can be used to predict aging trajectories of middle-aged dogs.