I have a strong interest in and commitment to the improvement of dentistry via the application of social and behavioral science. My long-term goal is to reduce health disparities by addressing psychological and social barriers to consistent, comfortable, and quality dental care and oral health programs/interventions. This underpins my current research, teaching, and advocacy.
During my time as an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I received the Carolina Undergraduate Health Fellowship to study factors related to the utilization of dental treatment in a Ghanaian hospital dental clinic. Over my three months in Cape Coast, Ghana, I became fascinated with the dental patient experience and the patient- and provider-level factors that influenced utilization of services and health outcomes. Soon after, I pursued graduate studies at West Virginia University for the opportunity to work with Daniel W. McNeil, PhD (see academic lineage) and to gain expertise in clinical health psychology and behavioral dentistry as a research associate in his Anxiety, Psychophysiology, and Pain Research Laboratory and through specialized clinical training.
During graduate school, I was appointed to the Research Training Program in Behavioral and Biomedical Sciences (NIH/NIGMS T32), and learned much about translational sciences as a fellow. Then, I became the first student in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University to receive a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award for Individual Predoctoral Fellows (NIH/NIDCR F31), and served as principal investigator for a project that bridged my interests in psychology, dentistry, and public health. Using behavioral genetics methodologies and a novel pain paradigm, the study addressed the role of genetic variation in pain perception and the relative contributions of genetics and environment – especially early learning experiences – in the etiology of dental care-related fear and anxiety. I then completed my predoctoral internship in clinical psychology as a resident in behavioral medicine and neuropsychology at the University of Washington School of Medicine, where much of my clinical work as a hospital psychologist focused on acute and chronic pain management, healthcare-related anxiety, treatment non-adherence, health behavior change, and health communication.
I earned an MS in Psychology in 2012 and a PhD in Clinical Psychology in 2017, both from West Virginia University. There, the strong behavioral orientation of the Department of Psychology informed my theoretical and scientific understanding of the pain experience, fear and anxiety, health behavior, and systems that contribute to health and health disparities. I completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in interdisciplinary dental public health research at the University of Washington School of Dentistry, where I offered a psychological perspective to several NIH-funded public health and health disparities projects. In 2019, I was appointed to a faculty position in the Department of Oral Health Sciences at the University of Washington School of Dentistry, where my research is supported by a Career Development Award from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIH/NIDCR K23).
I participate in service and advocacy internationally and locally. I am on the editorial boards for Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology and JDR Clinical and Translational Research. I am Vice-President of the International Association for Dental Research's Behavioral, Epidemiologic and Health Services Research Group, and I serve on the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry's Workgroup on Behavior Guidance for the Pediatric Dental Patient. I also serve on numerous School- and Department-level committees at the University of Washington. Additionally, I regularly participate in advocacy projects with the American Association for Dental Research and the American Psychological Association, advocating for increased national funding for research in the dental and psychological sciences, progressive higher education policy, and improved accessibility and quality of dental and mental healthcare.
When I am not working, I enjoy entertaining, gardening, design, backpacking and camping, exploring the waters of the Pacific Northwest, and learning about leadership theory, higher education, and healthcare.
During my time as an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I received the Carolina Undergraduate Health Fellowship to study factors related to the utilization of dental treatment in a Ghanaian hospital dental clinic. Over my three months in Cape Coast, Ghana, I became fascinated with the dental patient experience and the patient- and provider-level factors that influenced utilization of services and health outcomes. Soon after, I pursued graduate studies at West Virginia University for the opportunity to work with Daniel W. McNeil, PhD (see academic lineage) and to gain expertise in clinical health psychology and behavioral dentistry as a research associate in his Anxiety, Psychophysiology, and Pain Research Laboratory and through specialized clinical training.
During graduate school, I was appointed to the Research Training Program in Behavioral and Biomedical Sciences (NIH/NIGMS T32), and learned much about translational sciences as a fellow. Then, I became the first student in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University to receive a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award for Individual Predoctoral Fellows (NIH/NIDCR F31), and served as principal investigator for a project that bridged my interests in psychology, dentistry, and public health. Using behavioral genetics methodologies and a novel pain paradigm, the study addressed the role of genetic variation in pain perception and the relative contributions of genetics and environment – especially early learning experiences – in the etiology of dental care-related fear and anxiety. I then completed my predoctoral internship in clinical psychology as a resident in behavioral medicine and neuropsychology at the University of Washington School of Medicine, where much of my clinical work as a hospital psychologist focused on acute and chronic pain management, healthcare-related anxiety, treatment non-adherence, health behavior change, and health communication.
I earned an MS in Psychology in 2012 and a PhD in Clinical Psychology in 2017, both from West Virginia University. There, the strong behavioral orientation of the Department of Psychology informed my theoretical and scientific understanding of the pain experience, fear and anxiety, health behavior, and systems that contribute to health and health disparities. I completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in interdisciplinary dental public health research at the University of Washington School of Dentistry, where I offered a psychological perspective to several NIH-funded public health and health disparities projects. In 2019, I was appointed to a faculty position in the Department of Oral Health Sciences at the University of Washington School of Dentistry, where my research is supported by a Career Development Award from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIH/NIDCR K23).
I participate in service and advocacy internationally and locally. I am on the editorial boards for Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology and JDR Clinical and Translational Research. I am Vice-President of the International Association for Dental Research's Behavioral, Epidemiologic and Health Services Research Group, and I serve on the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry's Workgroup on Behavior Guidance for the Pediatric Dental Patient. I also serve on numerous School- and Department-level committees at the University of Washington. Additionally, I regularly participate in advocacy projects with the American Association for Dental Research and the American Psychological Association, advocating for increased national funding for research in the dental and psychological sciences, progressive higher education policy, and improved accessibility and quality of dental and mental healthcare.
When I am not working, I enjoy entertaining, gardening, design, backpacking and camping, exploring the waters of the Pacific Northwest, and learning about leadership theory, higher education, and healthcare.
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