She received a B.S. in Integrative and Molecular Physiology in 1998 from the University of Illinois Champaign/Urbana, then went on to receive a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Rush University in Chicago in 2005. She conducted her post-doctoral research at the University of Iowa from 2005-2008 and ONPRC from 2008-2010, when she became an Assistant Scientist.