What is your hometown?
I was born in Iowa City and grew up in Dubuque, Iowa.
When did you join the UI faculty?
I joined the faculty in 2003.
How/when did you become interested in science and medicine?
I became interested in science and medicine when I was young, probably when my dad was a pathology resident at the University of Iowa. I enjoyed biking with him to work and looking through his microscope. In college I enjoyed my biology classes, but was also drawn to coursework in sociology and anthropology of health and illness, making psychiatry a natural career path.
What interested you to pursue a career in psychiatry?
I have had a longstanding interest in the way in which psychological and social factors impact health. Psychiatry provides a wonderful opportunity to practice medicine and address these factors with each patient.
Is there a teacher or mentor who helped shape your career?
I have been so fortunate to have had several fantastic mentors- including my sociology professor at Grinnell College, Susan Ferguson, Caroline Doebbeling, previously a faculty member at the University of Iowa, and Scott Stuart, Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology, my current research mentor. In their own way, each has shaped my conviction that we must serve our patients and society by addressing mental health at both the individual and community levels.
How or why did you choose the UI?
I have chosen the University of Iowa again and again. I was drawn to the University of Iowa because of the excellent opportunities in medical school and, as a resident, in psychiatry and public health. I chose to stay here as a faculty member to pursue research interests and clinical initiatives with Scott Stuart and Mike O’Hara, both widely recognized for their outstanding research with perinatal women.
What kinds of professional opportunities or advantages does being a faculty member at Iowa provide?
Having had the opportunity to travel and meet other junior faculty members I recognize that the University of Iowa, particularly our Department of Psychiatry, really provides support for junior faculty to pursue their professional interests that isn’t provided anywhere else.
Please describe your professional interests.
My clinical work focuses on perinatal mental health (mood disorders and anxiety during pregnancy and the postpartum). I also conduct community oriented maternal mental health services research focused on working with women and maternal health agencies to improve the acceptability and accessibility of treatments. I am also excited about some interesting work I have been doing on depression in partners of postpartum women. We need to think about family mental health as a whole.
What are some of your outside interests?
I enjoy my family. I have three beautiful children, a wonderfully supportive husband and am lucky to have much of my immediate family in the Iowa City area. In addition, I like to run and cook.
Do you have an insight or philosophy that guides you in your professional work?
My own experiences with balancing family and career, as well as the challenges of parenting, have increased my appreciation of the difficulties confronting many of my patients. I think our ability to empathize with our patients and appreciate the sometimes elusive quest for balance can make us better clinicians.
If you could change one thing about the world (or the world of medicine), what would it be?
I would make health care affordable for all individuals.
What is the biggest change you've experienced in your field since you were a student?
The medications available to patients just keep getting better. They have fewer side effects and are more effective.
What one piece of advice you would give to today's students?
Keep your mind open when selecting your specialty and the nature of your job. Don’t be afraid to make a change if the fit isn’t right.
What do you see as "the future" of medicine?
I hope to see continued expansion of the multidisciplinary approach to health and wellness, with an increasing number of specialties recognizing the importance of addressing psychosocial factors for their patients.
In what ways are you engaged with the greater Iowa public (i.e. population based research, mentoring high school students, sharing your leadership/expertise with organizations or causes, speaking engagements off campus, etc.)?
My research is largely done at the community level with women and their maternal health care coordinators and providers. I am also heavily involved in training professionals in the public maternal health sector about perinatal depression. I do this through speaking engagements at maternal health agencies and working in collaboration with the Iowa Department of Public Health, Bureau of Family Health.