OBJECTIVES: 

To advance into my career in Psychology and Neuroscience. As I am currently a registered behavior technician (RBT) and a Research Assistant (RA) at UCF's REALE-Time Lab. Upon graduation of my Psychology B.S., I want to be able to contribute to addiction and substance abuse research and rehabilitation centers. Ultimately, by earning my P.h.D. in Psychology, I will be able to understand behavioral neurology and the most efficient interventions. I would also like to understand access to healthcare and what barriers need to be addressed to understand this issue. My passion for psychology and neuroscience comes from my personal experiences of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), addiction, and aversive childhood experiences (ACE). Addiction and PTSD, in particular, are my preferred research areas since they impact the persistence of behaviors that many exhibit today. I am especially interested in impactful intervention methods, substance abuse rehabilitation, and risk-reduction programs. I also like understanding the neurobiology underlying decision-making, compulsion, and reward circuits, as they relate to addiction behaviors. For example, plasticity is unlikely to occur after 25, which is why considering intervention after this age is so important for behavioral research and my career as a neuropsychiatrist. I would like to continue this research into my graduate degree.