My research focuses on using neuroimaging and behavioral methods to investigate individual differences in vulnerability to addiction, cognition, brain networks, gender development and behavior. My early work on nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) function advanced our understanding of impulsivity and medication response in Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and contextualized cigarette smoking in adult ADHD. Over time, it became apparent that the complex nature of human neurobiology and behavior necessitated the use of large-scale, multi-method and multidisciplinary research to reliably identify and characterize individual differences. This has led to my current projects:

• Site Principal Investigator for The Healthy Brain Child Development (HBCD) study. HBCD is focused on understanding infant development and the effects of prenatal exposures including substance use. This ambitious project will enroll 7,500 pregnant people across 25 sites and follow the family until the infant is 10 years old. 
• Site Principal Investigator for the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. This study began in 2015 and examines adolescent development in over 11,000 US families. ABCD  is designed to characterize trajectories of substance use, mental health, and cognition.
• Within the ABCD study, I Co-Chair the Gender Identity and Sexual Health (GISH) workgroup, and maintain an active research program aimed at using a developmental lens to understand the vulnerabilities and assets of sexual and gender minority youth.
• As an addiction researcher, I am also aware of the need to diversify the scientific workforce. I am one of the PIs of a NIDA funded training program - “Scientific Training in Addiction Research Techniques (START) for gifted future investigators from historically underrepresented and underserved backgrounds.” This program provides a year-long mentored research experience for underrepresented scholars to conduct research in the ABCD dataset.