She is an Investigator in the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research in Human Development and the Vanderbilt Brain Institute. Her research focuses on using brain imaging and behavioral approaches to understand emotion and sensory responses in individuals with ASD. Her laboratory’s work has called attention to links between emotion and bodily sensation in autism. Recent studies have shed light on how sensory differences may contribute to social symptoms, and have highlighted the need for a better understanding of how individuals with autism experience and express pain. Her work is funded by the NIH and the Autism Science Foundation.