Data Science
Currently I am a data scientist and assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at UC San Diego. Preiously I was a civil engineer at CH2M before transitioning into systems and information engineering for public health.
I obtained my PhD in Systems & Information Engineering, MS in Civil Engineering from the University of Virginia, and BS in Civil Engineering from Georgia Tech. My PhD applied methods from data science and human-computer interaction to examine online information seeking for sensitive, stigmatized reprodutive and sexual health issues.
I develop & apply tools to a variety of digital data sources (social media, text messages, search engine queries) to monitor human behavior (as manifested in our online digital footprints) and provide data-driven insights to inform health communication and interventions.
The publications page is a nice place to see some of my work.
I grew up in Georgia; moved to Puerto Rico for work after undergrad; moved to Virginia for grad; and now live in California.
I love being outside and can often be found soaking up the sunshine in beautiful SoCal. I used to be an avid rock climber, but find hikes are more my speed now. I'm currently learning Spanish (I take conversational classes at Pura Buena Onda) and can now have short conversations!