Advisor: Alexis Edwards, Ph.D., Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics

I am interested in understanding how genetic and environmental risk factors (especially individuals' relationships with their parents, siblings, peers, and romantic partners) come together to engender alcohol problems and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. I have experience working with longitudinal, observational studies (e.g., the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health), family-based studies (e.g., the Finnish Twin studies), and data from the Swedish national registries. My work employs a range of statistical methods, including structural equation modeling, polygenic risk scoring, growth curve modeling, and the co-relative model.