I am an experienced behavioral sciences researcher with an academic and research background in psychology (experimental, cognitive) and neuroscience (behavioral, cognitive). I have extensive experience in both human and animal research settings, ranging from labs to classrooms and outpatient programs. I have completed an MS in Experimental Psychology from Seton Hall University, focused on behavioral neuroscience.
Following graduate school, I worked in a behavioral neuroscience lab studying the neural circuitry underlying genetic models of anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia for two years. Some of my prior research can be seen here.
I decided to transition from basic science to applied research with a lifelong passion of mine – video games. I’ve worked with multiple companies, ranging from independent to AAA studios/publishers conducting games user research on a variety of games/products including PC, console, mobile, VR and websites; these previous lives include TURBO Studios, Volition, Epic Games, and Square Enix. I’m currently a Games User Researcher at Amazon Games working on a variety of projects.
I am particularly interested in data-informed approaches to game development and optimizing the user experience through a multidisciplinary approach. I enjoy combining scientific rigor with pragmatism in order to conduct the best possible research for the varying needs of game development teams. I utilize mixed methods when answering research questions in order to offer as many avenues to actionable insights as possible. Some examples of these include survey design/analysis, behavioral observation, 1:1 in-depth interviews, telemetry/analytics, heuristic/expert evaluations, accessibility analyses, and competitor analyses.
I’m happy to discuss any subject matter in greater detail, as well as anything else you may deem worth discussing. Feel free to contact me!