Bio
I’m a second-year PhD student in Epidemiology & Clinical Research with an emphasis on maternal health and well-being during the postpartum period and over the life course. My current research is focused on antepartum and postpartum depression prevalence trends, the policy impact of insurance expansion on postpartum healthcare utilization, the ‘Hispanic Paradox’ in the context of maternal health outcomes, and the effect of social support on reducing postpartum mental health morbidity. Ultimately, I would like to design and implement multimodal interventions to reduce postpartum depression morbidity, thereby promoting the well-being of mothers, children, and families. I am also interested in studying the connection between adverse pregnancy outcomes and long-term outcomes such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Before starting a PhD, I was a biostatistician in the Quantitative Sciences Unit at Stanford for four years where I co-authored over thirty publications, collaborating with clinicians on various domains including developmental behavioral pediatrics, reproductive endocrinology & infertility, oncology, and clinical trials. I completed my MS in Statistics at Brigham Young University in 2016, where I collaborated with cardiologists to develop a new approach to diagnose rheumatic heart disease in pediatric patients in Samoa for my Master's thesis.
In my free time, I moderate a book club, work on my Spanish, and spend time with my husband and our two young children.
