Elena is a PhD student in the Cognitive Psychology & Neuroscience program at the University of Colorado Boulder. She received her undergraduate degree from Carnegie Mellon University, double majoring in Biology and Art. After graduating, she spent some time working as an animator in Los Angeles before deciding to further pursue her passion for research. Her current research examines the role that cognitive systems and large-scale brain networks play in mood disorders and emotion regulation. She is especially interested in how mental habits, such as rumination and worry, shape our experiences of stress and emotion. She spends her free time climbing, drawing, and trying to decide what to watch on Netflix.