She received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology with a minor in Statistics from Boston College in 2012. Her research program focuses on emotion regulation and the arts in children and adults. Her studies demonstrate that drawing works to improve mood not by allowing venting but by inviting distraction. In a second line of research, she studies the cognitive and perceptual processes underlying graphic representation skill in artistically gifted children in order to understand the development of superior perceptual abilities. She has found that realistic drawing talent is unrelated to IQ, and that children gifted in graphic representation exhibit perceptual strengths also seen in individuals with autism. Her research has been featured in Scientific American Mind, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, and National Public Radio.