I am a Cognitive Scientist specializing in visual attention, decision-making, neuroeconomics, implicit cognition, and goal-directed mechanisms. I recently completed my Ph.D. in Cognitive and Information Sciences at the University of California, Merced. Prior to my doctoral training, I graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with a B.S. in Psychology-Neuroscience and an enhanced minor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

My doctoral work focused on understanding the activation and operation of goal-directed mechanisms, the attentional-biasing effects of top-down goals versus bottom-up stimulus-driven cues, and the downstream influences of these processes on choice. The primary aim of this work has been to investigate the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying goal-directed visual attention and the construction of value in decision-making. My work explores how such internal top-down cognitive frameworks (whether explicitly constructed or implicitly induced) dictate how we use the visual environment to weigh options and make value-based decisions. I am interested in bridging behavioral paradigms and systems neuroscience to understand how these processes unfold at the neural level and to computationally model their dynamics. By mapping these cognitive and neural pathways, which often operate outside of awareness, my ultimate aim is to help individuals gain power over their own choices.

Over the years, I have also been involved in various interdisciplinary collaborations and am always open to interesting ideas and conversations. My collaborative reach spans human factors, data visualization design, human–AI interaction, and social cognition. For example, in a project supported by Sandia National Laboratories, I led a large-scale study on the visual interfaces used by energy grid operators in control rooms across the U.S., focusing on improving how these designs support decision-making. I am also interested in exploring communicative, emotional, and socially driven decisions in an increasingly AI-driven world.

When I am not in the lab, I enjoy spending time in nature, reading novels, painting, exploring historical towns, and experimenting with family recipes.