Ellen is a PhD Candidate in the Brain and Creativity Institute and the Brain and Music Lab where she is thrilled to have the ability to research the intersection of her two passions of neuroscience and the arts. A graduate of Muhlenberg College with a BA in Neuroscience and a BS in Theatre Performance, she spent several years as an arts educator and performer before working at Northwestern University as a clinical research coordinator studying the biomarkers of Parkinson’s disease using fMRI. 

Ellen is interested in the impact of shared experiences on wellbeing, including the arts and music. She specifically studies the ways music and interventions impact belonging and wellbeing across the lifespan.

Outside of research, Ellen has developed a class on Psychological Science and Society, studying the development of psychology as a discipline and how its principles can be applied in social and societal contexts.

She also has worked in Learning and Impact at HopeLab, where she utilized her skills working with quantitative and qualitative data to understand the impact of HopeLab’s work on youth mental health across theUS.

In her free time Ellen enjoys hiking and backpacking with her dog and partner, acting, puppetry, singing, and exploring new places as she travels the world.