Research Associate

Olivia joins IHMC as a Research Associate working with Dawn Kernagis focusing on human health, performance, and resilience. She is thrilled to be working on a number of projects with the goal of promoting the optimization of human performance and risk mitigation for individuals working in extreme environments.

Olivia is a Pensacola native who completed the IB program at Pensacola High School before attending Florida State University in 2013. She has been conducting research in neuropharmacology, biomedical, and neuroscience research since 2015. At FSU she participated in research on the GLP-1 receptor, specifically looking at potential therapies involving GLP-1 receptor antagonist, under Dr. Gregg Stanwood and Dr. Devon Graham. Olivia was also the president of a very successful student organization (C.E.L.L.S. – Connecting Experimental Lab & Life Sciences) that encouraged undergraduates to pursue research. With an eye toward neuroscience research Olivia studied Psychology, Biology and Chemistry extensively as an undergraduate at FSU, but found the practical application of her studies in her lab work to be the most rewarding.

Outside work Olivia enjoys the outdoors with her dogs Sam and Bast, woodworking, and making and listening to music. She has been figure skating since she was seven years old and recently started playing ice hockey. She enjoys reading and collecting books, playing board games, and just about anything that has to do with snow.

“It’s the questions we can’t answer that teach us the most. They teach us how to think. If you give a man an answer, all he gains is a little fact. But give him a question and he’ll look for his own answers.” — Patrick Rothfuss, The Wise Man’s Fear