My research investigates how children’s early environments influence their development, specializing in language development and bilingualism. I particularly seek to understand the variability in and contributions of children’s home and early education environments and how enhancing protective factors within these environments buffers the negative impacts of early adversity. I integrate quantitative and qualitative methods from psychology, human development, and pediatrics to study these questions. A primary goal of my research is to inform the development of novel, effective, and scalable prevention or intervention for promoting healthy development in children from under-resourced communities.

I received my PhD in Human Development from the University of Maryland-College Park. I have extensive experience analyzing mother-child and father-child interactions, assessing early developmental skills, evaluating longitudinal randomized controlled trials, and implementing preventive interventions addressing health disparities.

In my spare time, I enjoy being surrounded by nature, watching shows and movies (crime, thrillers, science fiction), jogging, cat sitting, and exploring new places to eat.