I’m a PhD student in the Galea lab and am focused on understanding how hormones, and immune cells impact resiliency to stress, and play a role in pathologies such as depression. Depression affects twice as many females as males, especially in periods marked by high levels of hormone fluctuations such as in the postpartum period. In my research project I use a rodent model of postpartum depression (PPD) to  determine whether immune changes impact antidepressant efficacy and neuroplasticity. Moreover, a second aim of the project is to examine if maternal treatment predisposes offspring to depressive-like endophenotypes after chronic stress exposure in adulthood. My overall goal within my research is to bridge the gap in women’s health research, as it is widely understudied. In my free time, you can find me rock climbing, in a yoga class or reading literary fiction or memoirs (currently into Carmen Maria Machado and Elizabeth Acevedo).