She received her PhD in educational psychology from McGill University. She teaches courses on reading instruction, learning disabilities (LD), and special education law. Her research interests are primarily related to students with LD and effective reading interventions, with a particular focus on motivation as a determinant of school success. She was named one of the 2017 “Texas 10,” nominated by UT alumni as a professor who inspired them during their time on the Forty Acres. Toste was trained in reading intervention research as a postdoctoral fellow at Vanderbilt University and as a Fulbright scholar/visiting researcher at the Florida Center for Reading Research. She has worked as an elementary school teacher and reading specialist in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.