What are you working on lately? Currently, I am starting my new lab in Psychology at Cornell, where we study mechanisms underlying the formation and maintenance of social relationships. More specifically, we ask how perception shapes social bonding (and vice versa) by: 1) exploring how individuals’ perceive and interact with social partners during pair bonding, and 2) how social experiences impact peripheral and central sensory systems. 

What did you learn while on the CEBH training grant that you still use today? I came to CEBH with a background in bioacoustics, communication and social behavior - but with no experience thinking about perception or the neurobiology of hearing. The CEBH program, including the research questions I pursued and the training was instrumental in providing me a foundation to understand the psychology of hearing, and the neuroscience of auditory processing. 

Do you have any advice for current trainees? The interdisciplinary common at UMD  - spanning audiology, comparative evolution, psychology of perception, animal behavior, and auditory neuroscience - is truly special and unique. While a lot of universities house researchers with a variety of interests, finding a curious open-minded community to pursue transdisciplinary work is really special. I hope everyone can enjoy that piece of their experience.