She earned her PhD in Psychological and Brain Sciences from Dartmouth College and completed undergraduate studies in Cognitive Science and Music at Hampshire College. Her research explores the evolutionary origins of music, its links with language, and the multitude of ways in which music can be utilized as a tool. Current projects explore the use of music for mood regulation during athletic performance, the use of music for pain management, and the factors that shape musical preference and listener behavior (such as properties of the music itself, personal characteristics of the listener, the influence of peers and social media, and contextual factors that influence what one chooses to listen to at any given moment). Her work has been featured on WNYC and various other NPR affiliates, in Scientific American, the Chicago Tribune, and the Wall Street Journal.