Having accumulated post-baccalaureate research experience in psychology and rheumatology, I came to University of Kentucky to combine my love of both fields by joining Dr. Segerstrom's psychoneuroimmunology lab. My main research interest is exploring the many ways that chronic pain interacts with well-being. For my Master's thesis, I investigated the interaction of optimism and activity levels/pain interference in aging women. My current projects include comparing the behavioral, emotional, physical, and functional features of pain across specific pain populations and exploring the interaction of personality traits and pain interference.