Ava graduated from the College of the Holy Cross with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in Neuroscience. Over the past year (2022-2023), Ava interned as a Clinical Research Intern at the DCRP where she was involved in the SENSCODE study led by Dr. Paola Pedrelli. While interning at the DCRP, Ava was also an Undergraduate Research Assistant for the Holy Cross Obsessive Compulsive Processes and Experimentation (HOPE) Lab which investigates treatment methods for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Additionally, Ava participated in research as a JD Power Research Associate and received funding to investigate the relationship between social dominance and the HPA axis in mice. Outside of research, Ava was involved in a student lead organization, X-Chrom Women in STEM, where she mentored female students in STEM and attended meetings in which prominent female leaders recounted their professional and personal experiences. After her time at the DCRP, Ava plans to pursue a medical degree in psychiatry or a doctoral degree in clinical psychology.