Heather Richardson, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator |

Heather has been an Associate Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at UMass since 2008. She has an extensive background in developmental neuroendocrinology, sex differences and preclinical rodent models of alcohol use disorder.

Andrea Silva-Gotay

Ph.D. Candidate |

Andy is a fifth-year Neuroscience and Behavior graduate student in the Richardson Lab. Her research focuses on elucidating the role of sex hormones on the myelination of the prefrontal cortex and amygdala circuits during adolescence.

Sebastian Gomez

Postbaccalaureate Research Assistant |

Sebastian joined the lab as a PREP student in the Summer of 2020.

Said Akli, Ph.D.

Senior Research Associate |

Said joined the lab in January 2018. His project focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying the myelination of corticolimbic circuits during adolescence and how alcohol impacts this developmental process.

Annabelle Flores-Bonilla

Graduate Student |

Annabelle is a first-year Neuroscience and Behavior graduate student in the Richardson Lab. She first joined in the Summer of 2019 as a PREP student and studies the sex differences in alcohol drinking behavior.

Michael McDonald

Research Assistant |

Michael is an undergraduate pursuing a degree in Psychology & Neuroscience. He joined the lab in the Summer of 2018.

Jillian Davis

Research Assistant |

Jillian is an undergraduate pursuing degrees in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Psychology on the Neuroscience track. She joined the lab in the Fall of 2018. Currently, she is assisting in the study of the effect of alcohol on microglia morphology.

Barbara De Oliveira

Research Assistant |

Barbara is an undergraduate pursuing a degree in Animal Sciences Veterinary track. She joined the lab in Fall of 2019 and assists Annabelle with her research on sex differences in alcohol intake.

Sirisha Nouduri

Research Assistant |

Sirisha is an undergraduate pursuing degrees in Psychology Neuroscience track and Math. She joined the lab in May of 2018 and is working closely with Research Associate, Dr. Said Akli on a project investigating how alcohol impacts oligodendrocyte lineage during adolescence in male and female mice.

Rithika Senthilkumar

Research Assistant |

Rithika is an undergraduate student and assists Sirisha and Dr. Said Akli in experiments.

Faye Reagan

Research Assistant |

Faye is an undergraduate pursuing degrees in  Biology and Psychology. She joined the lab in Fall of 2018.