Welcome

I am currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan.

I am passionate about studying both the evolution and neurophysiological mechanisms that support parenting behavior. Using a comparative framework, my research has focused on how the hormone prolactin affects parenting behavior in mammals and birds (and in both males and females!) More recently, I have focused on how sensory cues that are unique to offspring (such as begging calls) are perceived by parents and how that affects their parenting behavior. In my new research program at U-M, I hope to combine my expertise in neuroendocrinology and sensory neuroscience to discover new ways the parental brain shapes parental behavior. By approaching my work with a comparative lens, I hope to undercover ways in which parenting is both similar (conserved) and different (divergent) across species, including our own.

Please feel free to reach out if you are interested in discussing potential research opportunities or collaborations!

Website last updated: 05/05/25

Check out my latest news and updates here:

Jan 2025: I started my new position at the University of Michigan this semester! The lab is currently under construction and expected to open in the Fall 2025.

May 2024: Officially accepted an Assistant Professor position in Biopsychology at the University of Michigan starting Jan 2025!

June 2022 - Moved to UMass Amherst!

Officially moved to Amherst, MA to start my new post-doc in the Remage-Healey lab!

June 2022: Presented at SBN 2022 - Atlanta

For the first time in 3 years, I attended my first in-person conference at the annual Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology meeting in Atlanta, GA! I shared some preliminary findings on how prolactin and neurogenesis may be involved in the mating-induced transition to paternal behavior in mice

Excited to announce I was awarded a 3-year Marsden Fast Start grant for my project on the effects of neurogenesis & prolactin during the transition to parental care!

From left to right: Prof Dave Grattan (Mentor), Dr Rosemary Brown (Collaborator), and Dr Kristina Smiley (PI)

Aug 2020: A very serendipitous collaboration with Stefanos Stagkourakis and Christian Broberger that lead to an explanation of why male mice show paternal care and male rat do not

New paper showing seasonal differences in central prolactin receptor densities in dark eyed juncos!

Funny story on how this paper came to be on my twitter page… https://twitter.com/prolactingrl/status/1254533371633401856?s=20

July 2019: Speaking at the Growth Hormone/Prolactin in Disease and Biology meeting (West Palm Beach, FL, USA)

June 2019: Presenting the latest prolactin and paternal care data at the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology meeting (Bloomington, IN, USA)

Sept 2019: Won 1st place poster prize at the Hypothalamic Neuroscience and Neuroendocrinology Australasia (HNNA) meeting (Queenstown, New Zealand)

Sept 2019: Honored to become the inaugural New Zealand Society for Endocrinology Emerging Researcher Award recipient

November 2018: Presenting my new work on prolactin and rodent paternal care at Society for Neuroscience in San Diego, CA.

August 2018: Participated in a great symposium on hormones and social behavior at MedSci during Queenstown Research Week

July 2018: Presenting at the Wiley Young Investigator Award Symposium during the Parental Brain 2018 Conference

July 2018: Incredibly honored to receive the SBN Young Investigator Award

Jan 2018: New paper out in Hormones and Behavior - Lowering prolactin disrupts parental care in male and female zebra finches!

May 2018: New paper out in Behavioral Processes! Increasing prolactin in early incubating zebra finches makes male and female pairs’ parental behavior more similar!

Nov 2017: Moved to beautiful Dunedin, New Zealand to begin a post-doctoral research position in the Grattan lab at the Centre for Neuroendocrinology

August 2017: Dissertation defended! Pictured here with my PhD advisor Elizabeth Adkins-Regan at graduation.

June 2017: Presenting my latest work on prolactin and parental care at the Society of Behavioral Neuroendocrinology meeting in Long Beach, CA.

March 2017: Place 1st at Cornell University's 3 minute thesis competition!