I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at The Pennsylvania State University, where I hold the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Early Career Chair in the Huck Institute for Life Sciences. My scientific training has spanned multiple institutions and disciplines, including postdoctoral research with Prof. Gareth Miles at the University of St Andrews and Dr. Steven Crone at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, as well as graduate training with Dr. Patrick Whelan at the University of Calgary and Dr. Jayne Kalmar at Wilfrid Laurier University. My training has been supported by prestigious fellowships from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the Royal Society (Newton International Fellowship).

My research program investigates how spinal circuits control the gain, flexibility, and precision of motor output, with a particular emphasis on neuromodulatory control of spinal motoneurons. I am interested in how spinal circuits dynamically regulate motor output to meet changing behavioral demands, how these mechanisms emerge as motor behaviors develop, and how they become disrupted following spinal cord injury and neurological disease.

Using multidisciplinary approaches in rodent models – including electrophysiology, molecular and transcriptomic approaches, and functional measures of movement and breathing – my lab seeks to define the circuit mechanisms that enable adaptive motor control across development and disease. A central goal is to understand how alterations in spinal circuit function contribute to motor dysfunction after spinal cord injury and to identify mechanisms that can be targeted to restore movement and breathing.

The long-term goal of my research program is to establish a mechanistic understanding of spinal circuit gain control that bridges fundamental neuroscience with therapeutic discovery. By integrating systems neuroscience, cellular physiology, and molecular approaches, my lab aims to uncover new strategies for restoring motor function after neurological injury and advance our understanding of how spinal circuits adapt across development and disease.

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Professional profiles

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Recently Published Work

HCN channels modulate the medium afterhyperpolarization and adjust the firing gain of fast alpha motoneurons in mice (Published in the Journal of Neurophysiology)

Intrinsic mechanisms contributing to the biophysical signature of mouse gamma motoneurons (Published in The Journal of Physiology)

A cholinergic spinal pathway for the adaptive control of breathing (Published in Cell Reports)

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Outside of the lab

In addition to being the primary focus of my research, movement is also an integral part of my life. I am an avid angler and outdoor enthusiast. When I’m not in the lab you can find me doing my best to get lost!