I am a native New Yorker and received a BS in Biology from SUNY Geneseo where I worked with Dr. Robert Beason on electromagnetic homing and orientation in bank swallows.  Immediately after, I moved to North Central Idaho to earn a PhD in Zoology with Dr. Steven Austad.  My dissertation centered on using fecal steroid metabolites to monitor physiological function in free-living, wild-derived and laboratory strains of rodents. During this time I became interested in the biology of aging, which led to a 12-year stint in the Department of Pathology and the Geriatrics Center at the University of Michigan to study the comparative biology of aging with Dr. Richard Miller prior to coming to SHSU in 2012.

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Due to my eclectic academic history, I have a wide range of interests and am open to students pursuing virtually any avenue of research.  Currently, research in the lab focuses on: (1) the study of aging and behavior in speckled cockroaches; (2) the impact of plasticizing agents on physiological function in vitro and in vivo using cell lines and intact animals; (3) physiological and genetic correlates of human behaviors.  I also conduct field research in collaboration with Dr. Jeff Wozniak, an ecosystems ecologist, examining osmoregulation in populations of blue crabs.  See my research page for more details.