I study populations of stars as a tool to enhance understanding of our galaxy The Milky Way (how it formed, how it evolved, and its present-day properties) and the Universe as a whole. My research uses data from various ground-based observatories (based in Chile, Hawaii, etc.) as well as present and upcoming space-based observatories such as the Hubble, James Webb, and Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescopes. 

Before coming to Iowa, I was an associate research scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Department of Physics and Astronomy. I was a research fellow at The Australian National University and completed my PhD at The Ohio State University in 2012; Professor Andy Gould was my dissertation adviser.

I am on the Graduate Recruiting and Admissions Committee at the Department of Physics and Astronomy.