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I am a biological anthropologist and a public health professional. I collaborate regularly with colleagues in nursing, health promotion, social work, and academic and community engagement. I have mentored four teams of AmeriCorps summer student scholars at Siena College. In 2023, our interprofessional complex care team won a two-year grant ($100,000) to expand our community reach and help other institutions serve community members with significant health and personal challenges.

I serve as the program coordinator for the interdisciplinary Health Studies program.

Degree Program University
M.P.H. Public Health University at Albany, SUNY
Advanced Certificate Public Health University at Albany, SUNY
Ph.D. Anthropology University at Albany, SUNY

My Siena Experience

My Teaching Philosophy

 I really enjoy teaching and it is one of the best parts of my job. I do my best to provide students with interesting and thought-provoking work that will enable them to be critical thinkers and problem solvers.

What I Love About Siena

 Siena has a welcoming staff and sits on a beautiful campus.

My Favorite Courses to Teach

 Evolutionary Medicine. This course mixes anthropology, biology, and public health to provide students with a novel framework to understand human health and illness.

My Professional Experience

Current Research

I'm interested in global and public health. I work with students and colleagues at Siena on local community engagement projects that serve to improve the health and well-being of our campus and local communities. I have been conducting research and taking students to Jamaica to work on a rural clinc for several years. I work on the connection between public health and medicinal plant education and use. 

Articles & Book Reviews

  • Review of the book Fevers, Feuds, and Diamonds: Ebola and the Ravages of History: By Paul Farmer
    The Advisor, vol. 41
    2021
  • Response to an aerobic training intervention in young adults depends on ponderal index at birth.
    Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease
    2012
  • Low ponderal index is associated with decreased muscle strength and fatigue resistance in college-aged women.
    Early Human Development, vol. 87
    2011
  • Handgrip strength and socially dominant behavior in male adolescents
    Evolutionary Psychology, vol. 8
    2010
  • Indirect Peer aggression in adolescence and reproductive behavior
    Evolutionary Psychology, vol. 8
    2010
  • Peer victimization in adolescence has different effects on the sexual behavior of male and female college students
    Personality and Individual Differences, vol. 46
    2009
  • Handgrip strength predicts sexual behavior, body morphology, and aggression in male college students
    Evolution and Human Behavior, vol. 28
    2007
  • A quantitative and qualitative reanalysis of the endocranial evidence from the juvenile Paranthropus boisei specimen L338y-6 from Omo, Ethiopia
    American Journal of Physical Anthropology, vol. 110
    1999

Books & Book Chapters

  • Nanobiotechnology, Nanobiotechnology Handbook
    CRC press Ghent Belgium (part of Taylor and Francis)
    2012