I am a zoologist with interests in animal behavior, cognition, and sensory systems. I investigate behavior, cognition, and sensory systems from both an ecological-evolutionary lens as well as considering their implications in conservation and other applied domains. I earned a Bachelor's degree in wildlife conservation, a Master's in Biology examining the evolution of monogamy in prairie voles, and a PhD investigating cognition and learning in zebra finch nest-building behaviors in the Animal Cognition Research Group at the University of Alberta. 

Currently, I am a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Canine Olfaction Research and Education Lab (CORE) at Texas Tech University. 

I am fascinated by animal minds- what animals perceive, how they process this information and learn from it, and the decisions they make.  I am interested in not only studying the sensory and cognitive abilities underlying behavior, but also why these abilities have evolved.  How and why do different species, and individuals within a species, differ in their cognition, behavior, and sensory abilities?  What environmental and social factors shape such differences?  During my PhD I examined the physical cognitive abilities of zebra finches in relationship to their nest-building behaviors, as well as individual differences in learning abilities.  

Currently I am investigating canine olfaction of explosives materials, with the goal of helping to improve training for explosive-detecting dogs.