Her primary research focus is on developmental neuroimaging targeted at investigating genetic and behavioral risk factors for substance abuse. Adolescence is a period of substantial change in brain structure and function, in personality and behavior, and in socialization. Understanding the dynamics between these changes is a major challenge as individual differences in brain function affect behavior, which, in turn, can alter the developmental trajectory of the brain. The influence of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use (ATOD) is an especially important example of this dynamic as adolescent exposure to ATOD can have long-lasting consequences for later adulthood.