She received her Ph.D. in statistics from Stanford University in 1998. Dr. Sugar's methodological expertise is in clustering, classification, and functional data analysis with an emphasis on finding patterns in high-dimensional or longitudinal data. She has also been involved in numerous applied projects in the mental health arena, particularly in schizophrenia and depression. This work has focused on identifying patterns of symptoms or functioning in patient populations and exploring how those patterns evolve over time in response to treatments or other stimuli.