After graduating from The College of New Jersey in 2018 with a major in psychology and a specialization in biopsychology, Cristina worked as a research assistant under Shirley investigating nonsuicidal self-injurious behavior in adolescents engaging in restrictive eating. She is currently a postgraduate associate at Yale Child Study Center in the Anxiety and Mood Disorders Program where she has developed an interest in childhood anxiety particularly in social and emotional dysfunction and how early life adversity may contribute to both. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology.