Our Research Team
Heather Richardson, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator | hrichardson@cns.umass.edu
Heather is a Professor in the Psychological and Brain Sciences Department, Associate Director of the NSB graduate program, and Co-Leader of UMass PREP. She has an extensive background in developmental neuroendocrinology, sex differences, and preclinical rodent models of alcohol use disorder.
Annabelle Flores-Bonilla
Graduate Student | afloresbonil@umass.edu
Annabelle is the Neuroscience and Behavior PhD prgram 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.
Jayden Amirault
Undergraduate Research Assistant | jamirault@umass.edu
Jayden is pursuing a degree Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Psychology on the Neuroscience track. Jayden joined the lab in September 2022. His independent project focuses on the effects of adolescent alcohol exposure on myelination of the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus.
Emily
Undergraduate Research Assistant | enaughton@umass.edu
Emily is pursuing a BS in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Psychology on the Neuroscience track. Emily joined our lab in March 2023.
Saïd Akli, Ph.D.
Senior Research Associate | sakli@umass.edu
Saïd 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.
James Hariston (JD)
Undergraduate Research Assistant |
JD joined the lab in March 2023. He is pursuing a degree in Psychology.
Margot Schmitt, MSW, LICSW
Graduate Student | margotschmit@umass.edu
Margot joined our lab in May 2023. She is an aspiring neuroscientist with a former career in clinical social work interested in addiction and severe and persistent mental illness research.