She earned her degrees (B.S., Ph.D.) at Virginia Tech, and she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research interests include parasitology and public health, especially zoonotic vector-borne parasitic diseases. She has written a book chapter and regularly publishes papers in journals such as Veterinary Parasitology and the Journal of Parasitology. She is active in the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists, the American Society of Parasitologists and has served as the president of the Southeastern Society of Parasitologists. Outside JCSU, she enjoys cooking, exercising and working with animals.