Her research focuses on ethical issues related to photographing vulnerable people, empathic and other affective responses to photojournalism of social issues, and visual stereotypes, with an emphasis on depictions of Islam and the Middle East in U.S. media. She currently teaches Visual Communication and Photojournalism Reporting courses. She earned her doctorate in Media and Communication from Temple University, and holds a master’s degree in Near Eastern studies from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Messiah College. Previous to her academic career, she worked as a photojournalist and photo editor at organizations such as the Philadelphia Daily News, Associated Press, AOL News, and ABC News.