Dr. Bress received her bachelor’s degree in cognitive science from Vassar College and her PhD in clinical psychology from Stony Brook University. She completed her doctoral internship at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Dr. Bress received postdoctoral training through a T32 fellowship in geriatric mood disorders at the Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry. She has received rigorous clinical training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and other research-supported therapeutic interventions and has provided care in both outpatient and partial hospitalization settings to individuals ranging from early through late adulthood.

Dr. Bress’s research focuses on brain activity associated with depression and treatment response throughout the lifespan. A specific area of interest is the brain's response to rewarding experiences when individuals are depressed, and how this response may change as they progress through treatment. Dr. Bress has received research support from the National Institute of Mental Health, the Joseph Sanchez Foundation, the Weill Cornell Children's Health Investigators Fund, and the Weill Cornell Mastercard Diversity-Mentorship Collaborative. She is currently conducting a study to better understand the changes in brain activity that occur over the course of a neurobiologically informed, reward-focused psychotherapy for older adults with depression. In a separate line of research, Dr. Bress is part of a collaborative study team investigating a mobile app-based intervention for young adults with depression and anxiety.