I am broadly interested in the mechanisms, outcomes, and evolutionary consequences of animal decision-making.  

I conducted my PhD at the University of Texas at Austin and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, where I studied different aspects of learning and decision-making in Neotropical bats. After my PhD, I switched to working on bumblebee decision-making at the University of Texas at Austin. 

My lab studies how both internal and external variables jointly influence animal behavior to understand the causes and consequences of decision-making biases in animals. To do this, we ask questions across a range of levels and using two systems: bats and bees. We study the role of internal factors within the animals in influencing how they evaluate and choose between options. We also explore how decisions play out in more complex, ecologically realistic contexts in which animals actually operate. Finally, we are interested in how complex signals and rewards interact to influence animal behavior. We ask these questions by studying the foraging behavior of both bees and bats.