She received her B.A. in chemistry from Southampton College, now part of Long Island University, in 1991. Her graduate studies were carried out at the University of Guam where she received her M.S. in Biology in 1995 and the University of Mississippi, School of Pharmacy where she received her Ph.D. in pharmacognosy. She received grants from the American Museum of Natural History and the Australian Museum of Natural History to conduct her research on Guam and the Great Barrier Reef (Lizard Island).