Welcome New Faculty

I am very excited to be part of the Psychology Department and the McKnight Brain Institute at the University of Arizona. My research interests include temporal awareness and time perception, action agency and intentionality. While these cognitive processes are essential to our daily lives, we have a limited understanding of how they operate and how they may be altered or compromised under different mental or health states. To further investigate, my lab employs techniques such as EEG, eye tracking, and TMS to observe the psychological and neural mechanisms of these cognitive processes. I feel fortunate to be building my research program here at UofA alongside esteemed colleagues and at an institute with a strong foundation in cognitive science, neuroscience, and consciousness. I very much look forward to calling Tucson home.

I am a graduate of the University of Arizona Clinical Psychology Program who completed an internship and one-year postdoctoral fellowship in forensic psychology at California State Hospitals - Patton. One of my favorite things about being a graduate student was teaching and working with students, and I am excited and honored to be joining the department as a faculty member. My research has focused on issues at the intersection of law and psychology, particularly as they apply to illegal sexual behaviors. In addition to my University duties, I also have a small practice in forensic psychology. When I am not teaching or doing clinical work my hobbies are board games, video games, travel, and (I’ll be honest here) Netflix.

I earned my Ph.D. here in Psychology at the University of Arizona under Dr. Jacobs with concentrations in Ethology and Evolutionary Psychology (EEP) and Cognition and Neural Systems (CNS). I spent the past year as an assistant professor at Wilson College, a private teaching-focused liberal arts college in PA before moving back to Tucson this summer to join the UA, this time as teaching faculty. My teaching & research go hand in hand: I am very interested in the cognitive strengths of young people exposed to stressful early-life conditions.  I enjoy teaching psychology to diverse groups of students as well as mentoring those interested in research. Outside of work, I enjoy being physically active, cooking, relaxing with family and friends, and traveling. I am very honored and excited to be back at the UofA! 

I am thrilled to be joining the University of Arizona Psychology Department and the McKnight Brain Institute as an Associate Professor. As a former alum of UofA (master’s degree in neuroscience, 2001), I have a great appreciation for the innovative and “can-do” spirit that underlies much of the great research here. My research focuses on human spatial navigation, a historic strength of UofA psychology, and an important area of study because of how fundamental it is to our everyday lives. We employ techniques like high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging, encephalography (EEG), and patient work, all distinct strengths of UofA research. Our inter-disciplinary research — which has foundations in computer science (via virtual reality and neural networks), geographical science, cognitive science, linguistics, neurology, neurosurgery, and others — will benefit significantly from the collaborative and enterprising spirit of University of Arizona.  I look forward to coming back to Tucson and introducing my family and lab to all the fun and excitement of the desert.

I am very privileged and excited to be back in the Southwest and teaching in the Department of Psychology at the University of Arizona. I’m a native of El Paso, Texas (BA in Psychology, University of Texas at El Paso) and a graduate of Family Studies and Human Development (MS and Ph.D.) from the University of Arizona. I spent the last four years as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Francisco, focusing on the social determinants of cardiovascular health. My teaching interests primarily center around statistics, focusing on an applied and active approach.  In my free time, I love traveling, cooking, trying different restaurants (and posting pics to my food blog), and going to the gym. 

I am a graduate of the U of A Clinical Psychology program (Clinical Neuropsychology Track). For the last eight years, I was faculty in the College of Medicine, and for the last three, I directed the Psychology Internship in the Department of Psychiatry. I have a neuropsychology clinic in the Department of Neurology, where I supervise neuropsych externs. I am originally from Lima, Peru, and as a proud “First Cat” (first-generation college student), I am very passionate about higher education access, which is why I am working towards a Masters in Higher Ed. In my off-campus life, when I’m not bingeing movies at The Loft, I volunteer with the Alzheimer’s Association, Pima Council on Aging, and the Southern Arizona Psychological Association. I am absolutely thrilled to be back home in the Department of Psychology among such a fantastic group of faculty and students!

It is my great pleasure to join the Psychology Department and the James E Rogers College of Law faculty. I am most excited to be a part of the effort to create opportunities for those interested in the intersection between psychology and the law.  I am an experienced litigator and a trained research psychologist with an interest in procedural fairness and the administration of justice.  I have a particular interest in using psychological theory and empirical research methods, both qualitative and quantitative, to challenge the validity of commonly held beliefs the often support legal decision-making.  I could not imagine a better group of people with whom to work, nor could I imagine a better environment within which to produce policy-changing research.