Profesora de historia en la Universidad de Stanford. Es autora del libro “Possessing Nature: Museums, Collecting and Scientific Culture in Early Modern Italy” (1994), editora de “Merchants and Marvels” (2002, junto a Pamela Smith), “Beyond Florence: The Contours of Medieval and Early Modern Italy” (2003, junto a Michelle Fontaine y Duane Osheim), “Athanasius Kircher: The Last Man Who Knew Everything” (2004) y “Early Modern Things: Objects and Their Histories” (2013).