She received her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Minnesota and was a postdoctoral research associate at Case Western Reserve University. Her research interest in reproductive endocrinology began at the University of Georgia where she developed single chain analogs of human chorionic gonadatropin and hormone-receptor fusion proteins. Current research in her laboratory is focused on understanding the mechanisms by which gain-of-function mutations in the gonadotropin receptors alter gonadal development and fertility.