Her principal research focus is investigating the dynamics and variability of the Arctic Ocean to better understand how the ocean impacts Arctic sea ice and climate. Her approach is to apply fundamental theoretical models to geophysical observations, including measurements from an ice-based network of drifting automated ocean-profiling instruments, and hydrographic measurements from icebreaker surveys. Her research includes investigations of ocean mixing, eddies, waves, double-diffusive heat transport, and freshwater and heat content in the upper Arctic Ocean. She received a B.S. in Physics at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, in 1994 and a Ph.D. in Fluid Mechanics from Cambridge University in 2000.