Hi, I'm
Scientist · Founder · Artist · Athlete · Advocate.
Our bodies are always telling us something. I build the tools that help us listen.
I'm finishing my PhD in Complex Systems & Data Science at the University of Vermont, where I also co-founded Biobe. My research uses wearable biosignals and machine learning to understand how people (especially young children) express stress, emotion, and wellbeing through their bodies. My dissertation focuses on digital phenotyping of childhood internalizing disorders, but the vision is broader: personalized, preventive tools that meet families and communities where they already are.
I'm an NSF Graduate Research Fellow working across two UVM labs, triple-advised by Dr. Ryan McGinnis (biomedical engineering), Dr. Nick Cheney (computational methods and ML), and Dr. Ellen McGinnis (child psychology and clinical research design). From 2021 to 2025, I collaborated with the Broad Institute / Sabeti Lab at Harvard and MIT on COVID-19 multimodal community health surveillance, before shifting my full focus to Biobe.
I care about the hard middle: scientifically rigorous, clinically translatable, actually deployable. The most meaningful work happens when the science is real and the tool is something someone can actually use. I think of myself as a pragmatic visionary: solve big problems, but start with the smallest first step that works, then build from there.
Outside of research I volunteer monthly with NAMI Vermont, coach and mentor students from high school through PhD level, play soccer multiple times a week, go on long walks, and look for any excuse to get outside or get together with friends and community.
Art and design aren't separate from the science for me. I paint (mostly acrylics), wood burn, sketch, work with clay, do graphic design, build UI/UX for side projects, and prototype sensor setups. Creativity and engineering have always been the same impulse. I've also worn wearables continuously since 2019, tracking my own biosignals every day.
I set lofty goals, follow creative ideas wherever they lead, and don't follow a traditional path. I believe in a life that is intentional, growth-oriented, and authored. (P.S. I'm writing my first memoir, Chaotic Good, coming 2027.)







Biobe (pronounced bio-be) exists because I didn't want to come out of my PhD with just a piece of paper. I wanted to build something real. I co-founded Biobe with Dr. Ryan McGinnis, Dr. Ellen McGinnis, and Dr. Nick Cheney to make screening and intervention of early childhood mental health more actionable and objective. We're building from both the University of Vermont and Wake Forest University, where Ryan and Ellen now lead the Center for Remote Health Monitoring.
We're building tools that meet families where they are and grow with them over time, starting with what's needed most today and expanding from there.




Plus a growing team of designers, researchers, technicians, experts, and advocates: Isabel B., Carter B., Johanna H., Maggie H., Rowan G., Hazel A., and more.

A caregiver-facing emotional wellness toolkit providing structured, evidence-informed strategies for families navigating child emotional and behavioral challenges. Selling direct-to-consumer and via clinic partnerships. A free personalized recommender is available at sprout.biobe.org.

A digital companion app extending Foundations with personalized recommendations and cross-setting support. Coming soon.
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Child-friendly wearable monitoring for the home. Early development.

Objective Assessment for Kids. Biobe's research program working toward objective pediatric mental health screening.
The recognition that means the most comes from the people closest to the work: mentors, peers, families, and the communities we're trying to serve.
My creative practice is not separate from my scientific work. It's how I make sense of complexity: the biosignals that don't fit the model, the parts of mental health care that numbers alone can't capture, the things I need to sit with before I can articulate them. I work mostly in acrylics (some spanning multiple canvases), but also wood burn, sketch, work with clay, do graphic design, and build UI/UX for side projects.
I co-designed cover art for a Cell Press journal issue, supported cover design for another, and contributed to research behind a third. I also create scientific illustrations and graphical abstracts, and maintain an independent visual art practice. When I need to think differently, I work with my hands.
@artbybrynchristine —





























Brynspiration is where the research, the founding, and the life intersect. Longer reflections on building Biobe while finishing a PhD, wearables and mental health, and what it actually takes to build something real while staying human in the process. Launched January 2026. I also share shorter posts and thoughts on LinkedIn.
brynspiration.substack.com — LinkedIn —