Prior to coming to Vassar, I spent my undergraduate years at Haverford College, a small liberal arts college near Philadelphia PA. I was a psychology major, with Doug Davis as my primary research mentor. After graduating from Haverford, I received a 2-year Intramural Research Training Award to work at NIMH with Anil Malhotra on a study of the pharmacogenetics of schizophrenia.

My PhD in clinical psychology is from the University of Virginia, where I worked on the Peer Nomination Project of Personality, run by Eric Turkheimer and Tom Oltmanns. Our research centered on the discrepancies between self-report and informant-report in the assessment of personality and personality disorders. My interest in the intersection between personality and social networks arose as a result, and I wrote my dissertation on “Social Network Analysis of Self and Peer Perceptions of Pathological Personality.”

I completed my clinical internship in my hometown of Pittsburgh, at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. My clinical rotations included, among others, an Intensive Outpatient Program for Borderline Personality Disorder, an Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder treatment clinic, and a psychiatric emergency room. I stayed at WPIC for a two-year research postdoctoral fellowship, where I worked with Paul Pilkonis in developing new models of interpersonal functioning in borderline personality disorder.

I have been at Vassar since 2006, and it’s been a great fit for me. My undergraduate experience at Haverford gave me a real desire to teach at a small liberal arts college. At Vassar, I’ve found the right balance between teaching and research. I’ve been able to maintain a strong focus on teaching, in an environment that provides the resources and support I need for my research.

When not doing academic things, I enjoy spending time in the beautiful Hudson Valley with my wife and two children.