Benjelene is a graduate student in the Department of Psychology at Florida International University (FIU), specializing in Cognitive Neuroscience. She graduated from FIU with a B.A. in Psychology with double major in Philosophy of the Mind. Benjelene’s academic and career goals revolve around gaining a better understanding of adolescent substance use etiology in the context of brain function and modifiable risk factors (e.g., emotion regulation, sleep) that can inform prevention strategies to reduce use onset. Namely, Benjelene is interested in those neurobiological differences that can impact adolescent substance use by employing task-based and resting-state fMRI analyses.