Born a Texan, I was raised in Dallas and studied neurobiology at The University of Texas at Austin. I graduated with Honors from Baylor College of Medicine, during which time I completed a research year in neuroimaging at the University of Oxford in England. I then relocated to the Midwest, first to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital for child neurology residency and then to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City for my current faculty position.

My interests in neurology and research are intertwined and grew out of a passion to understand how infinite unique personalities could arise from the brain, which structurally appears so homogenous. This same curiosity drew me to pediatric neurology, where I found reward in the never-ending hope and perseverance of children and their families, as well as the opportunity to expand our understanding of pathologies in the developing brain and potentially intervene to alter the course of a child’s life.

My residency mentors Dr. Donald Gilbert and Dr. Steve Wu introduced me to the field of movement disorders, where I developed an interest in cerebral palsy and acquired dystonia. I was struck by the fact that, while many infants with perinatal brain injury develop dystonia that can be painful and functionally disabling, diagnosis is often delayed due to under-recognition, and available treatments are marginally effective at best.

This became the foundation of my current research program in precision therapeutics for children with acquired dystonia. My research includes facilitating early diagnosis, such as with the Kernicterus Spectrum Disorders Toolkit published in Pediatric Research, as well as developing neuroimaging-based prognostic biomarkers to aid in stratification of patients for targeted therapies. Under a T32 Pediatric Clinical Pharmacology Fellowship, I am developing personalized treatments for dystonia, investigating the impact of pharmacogenomics on the disposition of trihexyphenidyl.

I would advise anyone interested in research to follow your patients’ lead, as they are your best guides. Don’t be afraid to pursue your passions and seek out mentors who will help you in your goals. None of my research would be possible without the unending support and encouragement of innumerable mentors, including Dr. Jean-Baptiste Le Pichon, Dr. Ahmed Abdelmoity, Dr. Steve Shapiro, and Dr. Steve Leeder. And finally, don’t forget to have fun; we are so fortunate to be a part of this work and I feel grateful for this every day.