She obtained her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in health psychology and associated methods from the University of Illinois at Chicago under the mentorship of Dr. Bonnie Spring. Following completion of a clinical health psychology internship at the University of Wisconsin Hospital & Clinics, she completed a 2-year post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Massachusetts Medical School with Dr. Sherry Pagoto, and joined the faculty in the Division of Preventive Medicine as an Assistant Professor in 2009. Her research interests include: