I am a Professor in the Department of Biology at St. Catherine University and a Carondelet Scholar. I work in the areas of physiology and physical anthropology (PhD from UW-Madison), with a particular focus on the locomotor physiology and biomechanics of humans in contemporary as well as early human populations. I am co-PI on a $1.5 M R25 NIA grant called Katies for Aging Research and Equity (KARE), which prepares underrepresented students for careers in longevity and aging research. I teach Human & Comparative Physiology, Biology of Longevity & Aging, Measuring Human Locomotion, and Biology of #Women.

My research is done collaboratively with undergraduate students and immerses them in all aspects of the experimental process: protocol design, data collection, analysis, and publishing and presenting results. My research looks at factors influencing the metabolic cost of walking and running in humans, particularly while carrying “loads” (children, belly fat, backpacks, or during pregnancy). Recently, my collaborators and I have focused on the energy flux in females and their offspring, including thermoregulation in mothers and their infants and the costs of carrying infants and toddlers. Through my work at the Women's Health Integrative Research (WHIR) Center we are also studying a novel gait training device aimed at improving walking speed, balance, and symmetry in elders.