I am a first-generation, Latine research assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Florida. I am also a former NIDA T32 postdoctoral fellow from the UF Substance Abuse Training Center in Public Health in the Department of Epidemiology. As a developmental psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist, I seek to improve the health and independence of older adults through my research. I am interested in the impact of aging on social cognition and health-related behaviors, including decision-making. My research aims to characterize social cognition and decision-making across adulthood and aging and to identify opportunities to enhance function in these domains, with the ultimate goal of developing effective interventions (e.g., pharmacological - oxytocin, behavioral, and neuromodulatory) for older adults.

During my graduate studies, I examined the effects of intranasal oxytocin administration in younger and older adults on whole-brain pattern activation, functional connectivity, and behavior relevant to socioemotional skills impacted by aging (e.g., emotion identification, meta-mood). My postdoctoral work focused on the neurobiological and psychosocial contributors to chronic pain and substance use in aging. Currently, through a supplement to NIA R01AG072658 (Characterizing and Modulating Neurocognitive Processes of Learning to Trust and Distrust in Aging), I am investigating non-social and social decision-making in older adults with and without chronic pain. I employ an integrative biopsychosocial approach to achieve this work, which combines methods such as biological sampling, self-report and behavioral measures, and neuroimaging.

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