I completed my PhD in Neurobiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2001. My dissertation research was completed under Andrew Blight, PhD in the department of Neurosurgery and focused on secondary pathology of spinal cord injury. I taught for many years at small liberal arts colleges and have also worked in a role in clinical research at the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute at West Virginia University. I am currently the Assistant Provost for Faculty Development, Teaching, and Learning, Director of the Center for Faculty Excellence, and Professor of Psychological Science at Lander University