Research Overview

A cornerstone of human cognition is the ability to shape our conscious awareness—preserving goal-relevant information while pushing aside what is unwanted or intrusive. This ability is essential for adaptive behavior, and failures can lead to rumination and negatively impact mental health outcomes.

My doctoral research focuses on identifying how controlled memory processes function in the presence of emotional information, how individuals recover from lapses in control when these processes fail, and if we can leverage targeted interventions to improve the control of emotional memories. Ultimately, I am motivated to understand the factors that may lead to dysfunctional memory control to better understand how these processes are disrupted in clinical populations. In the future, I am especially interested in extending this work to understand how control processes shape the long-term fate of memories—particularly why some experiences continue to intrude over time and how their impact on well-being can be modulated.

My research uses a combination of novel behavioral paradigms, functional neuroimaging, machine learning, and closed-loop neurofeedback to answer these questions.