She has received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University (2000). She conducted her post-Doctoral Studies at Harvard working on a project on the role of third party mediation in conflict resolution focusing particularly on the U.S. role in Turkish-Greek relations. Her areas of interest and expertise include international relations and comparative politics, foreign policy analysis, Turkish foreign policy, Turkish-American Relations, Turkish-EU Relations, Mediterranean cooperation and security, and conflict resolution. She has publications in journals such as the Middle East Journal, World Today, Middle Eastern Studies, O Mundo em Portugues and Insight Turkey.