She began her independent research laboratory in the fall of 2010. Her lab uses molecular approaches to study the functions of genes involved in neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental diseases. She received her undergraduate degree from Skidmore College in her hometown of Saratoga Springs, NY. She then went on to enter the Biomedical and Biological Sciences (BBS) program at Harvard Medical School where she received her Ph.D. in genetics. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School under the mentorship of Dennis Selkoe.