I am a Postdoctoral Researcher at the William James Center for Research within the ISPA–Instituto Universitário studying the complex interplay between distinct neurobehavioral traits, such as reward processing, incentive salience, cognitive control, and stress physiology , and how such traits explain heterogeneity in the susceptibility to alcohol and drug addiction. My research program aims to address two fundamental questions in alcohol and drug addiction: (1) Why do some people become addicted to drugs and alcohol while others do not? and (2) Why is it so difficult to change addictive behaviors and recover from drug and alcohol dependence?

My research combines contemporary theories of addiction, advanced statistical modeling techniques, and multimodal neuroimaging methods–namely, electroencephalography (EEG) including event-related potentials (ERPs); and voxel-based whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) analysis and functional connectivity–to the understanding of the underlying causes contributing to the susceptibility for alcohol and drug abuse and dependence.

I am passionate about exchanging ideas. If you want to invite me to give a talk at your university, department, or lab meeting, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I welcome the opportunity to share and discuss my work.