She earned her PhD in perinatal epidemiology in 1992 from the University of Maryland at Baltimore; and her post-masters certificate in midwifery in 1997 from the SUNY-StonyBrook. She is nationally recognized as an expert in women’s health issues and intimate partner homicide and pregnancy-related intimate partner homicide. She published and presented widely on this critical issue; participated in news media interviews and received a number of awards including the 2001 Journal Article of the Year from the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health (JMWH).