"My interest in paternal parenting started with my work with Dr. Elizabeth Becker at SJU. In her lab, we used a murine model to study fathering effects on offspring behavioral and biological development. This research gave me the foundation for studying parenting and got me interested in examining how such early life experiences have long-lasting effects on development. I also took a variety of classes in the program at SJU that fostered my interest in understanding self-regulation. Since toddlerhood is a ripe time for both children and parenting in terms of having reciprocal effects on behavior, I decided to look for graduate programs that would offer me the chance to explore this question in more detail."
