Contact Information

Contact Information

PhD Candidate, Demographer, Sociologist.

Talks and presentations

CatLLM: Augmenting Social Science Research with Large Language Models

October 29, 2025

Talk, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

Presented on computational tools that augment social science research using large language models. Introduced CatLLM—an open-source Python package that enables researchers to apply language and vision models to survey coding, image analysis, and data categorization without machine learning expertise. The talk covered practical applications in demographic research, including automated coding of open-ended survey responses and analysis of cognitive health data.

Hispanic Migrant Cognitive Aging

July 01, 2025

Talk, Center on the Economics and Demography of Aging, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, California

Joint presentation with Dr. William H. Dow examining the Hispanic health paradox in cognitive aging. The talk explored the contradiction in Hispanic aging where Mexican migrants, despite being more socioeconomically disadvantaged, demonstrate better cognitive aging outcomes than other Hispanic migrant groups. This research contributes to understanding health disparities and the complex relationship between socioeconomic status and health outcomes in aging populations.

Benefits and Challenges of AI in Demography

April 10, 2025

Panel Discussion, Population Association of America (PAA) Annual Meeting, Washington, DC

Participated in a panel discussion on the benefits and challenges of AI in demography at the 2025 PAA Annual Meeting. Discussed use-cases and benefits/limitations of large language models (LLMs) for survey research alongside other panelists.

Partisan Differences in the Spread of Disease

March 18, 2025

Public Talk, Wonderfest Science Envoy Event at HopMonk Tavern, Marin County, California

Presented as a Wonderfest “Science Envoy” at a public science event co-hosted with Marin Science Seminar. The talk explored how political partisanship significantly influences how different groups respond to public health guidance, affecting their adherence to protective measures against infectious diseases. Understanding partisan-based disparities in acceptance of scientific evidence helps us to predict the population-wide spread of diseases and to improve public health outcomes.

Partisan-Influenced Health Outcomes

February 03, 2025

Radio Interview, KPOO 'Let Me Touch Your Mind' Radio Show, San Francisco, California

Radio interview as a Wonderfest Science Envoy on KPOO’s “Let Me Touch Your Mind” show, hosted by Marilynn Fowler. Discussed research on partisan-influenced health outcomes and how political partisanship shapes public health behaviors and disease spread.

Partisan Context and Its Associations on Individual Behavior During the COVID-19 Pandemic

November 01, 2024

Talk, Center for Studies in Demography & Ecology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

Joint presentation with Dr. Audrey Dorélien examining partisan differences in the adoption of protective health behaviors during COVID-19 and modeling how these differences impact disease dynamics. Using detailed survey data on partisanship, contact rates, mask usage, and vaccination rates, we demonstrated that partisan differences in health behaviors exceed racial and gender differences. We incorporated these observations into a Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) model framework that explicitly incorporates partisanship to identify the most significant mechanisms driving disease spread, emphasizing the importance of considering partisan identification in public health policy and pandemic preparedness.

Father Connection & Support in Adulthood (UC Berkeley Social Networks Study)

May 08, 2021

Talk, Online, Online

Despite rapidly expanding interest in fathers, scholars know little about the impact of fathers on adult health and well-being. How does the positive presence – or lack thereof - of fathers in adult children’s lives affect their social networks? Drawing on attachment theory and social capital theory to examine novel UC Berkeley Social Networks Study (UC Nets) data, I seek to extend understanding of how father attachment and socialization can influence adult social well-being. I find that individuals who name a father in their social network have significantly more social ties. Those with a “close” father have larger social networks than those who name a father who is not “close.” This has consequences for individuals’ broader networks: respondents with a “close” father report more males – but not females – in social activities networks. In contrast, having a “close” mother was associated with more females to confide in, but not males.