She is also chair of the Aging Studies Program. She did her undergraduate work at Penn State, her PhD at Carnegie Mellon University, and postdoctoral work at Stanford University at Buffalo and UC Berkeley. She has 20 years of experience teaching undergraduates, including courses that discuss consciousness and the intersection of art and neuroscience. In 2016, Elaine was awarded the Educator of the Year by the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience (FUN), a national organization devoted to neuroscience education. In addition, Elaine has developed art installations that question the relationship between technology and society with several collaborators.