Principal Investigator hrichardson@cns.umass.edu

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.

Ph.D. Candidate | asilvagotay@umass.edu

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

Lab Manager | lynnb@psych.umass.edu

​Lynn has been the manager for the lab since 2008. She oversees activities in the lab and helps with the execution of each project.

Senior Research Associate | sakli@umass.edu

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

Master's Candidate | spscott@umass.edu

Sam joined the Richardson Lab in the spring of 2016. After working as a research assistant, an honors thesis student, and a research technician, he is continuing in the lab as a first year graduate student in the Neuroscience and Behavior program. His research focuses on the effects of binge drinking on myelination in the developing adolescent brain.

Lab Technician | ertavare@umass.edu

Liz recently graduated from UMass with a bachelors degree in psychological and brain sciences. As the current full-time lab technician for the Richardson lab, she supervises undergraduate work and trains students on new techniques. Her current research focuses on vulnerabilities of developing nodal domains to alcohol.

Honors Thesis | klucier@umass.edu

Kyle is an undergraduate student pursuing BS degrees in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Psychology on the Neuroscience Track. He joined the lab in Fall 2016 and is currently conducting his honors thesis studying how binge drinking alcohol during adolescence affects the myelination of corticolimbic circuitry in rats.

Independent Study| derrickliu@umass.edu

Derrick is an undergraduate pursuing degrees in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Math. He joined the lab in the Spring of 2017 as a research assistant. Currently, his research investigates the effects of circulating sex hormones, specifically estradiol, on microglia in the brain.

Research Assistant | flreagan3@gmail.com

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

Research Assistant | snouduri@umass.edu

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, and Masters Candidate, Sam Scott, on a project investigating how alcohol impacts oligodendrocyte lineage during adolescence in male and female mice. 

Work Study/Laboratory Assistant | patrickmei@umass.edu

​Patrick is a Biochemistry & Molecular Biology major. He joined the lab in the summer of 2018 and helps with individual projects and additional laboratory duties such as making reagents and checking equipment.

Honors Thesis | gmolica@umass.edu

Gabi is an undergraduate student studying Psychology on the Neuroscience track. She joined Richardson Lab in Fall 2017 and is currently working on her honors thesis project studying the nodes of Ranvier in the lab’s binge drinking model.

Research Assistant | jilliandavis@umass.edu

​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.

Research Assistant | michaelmcdon@umass.edu

Michael is an undergraduate pursuing a degree in Psychology & Neuroscience. He joined the lab in the summer of 2018 and will be assisting Gabi with her research on the nodes of ranvier in regard to the adolescent binge drinking model. 

Work Study/Laboratory Assistant | mkearney@umass.edu

​Monica is an undergraduate pursuing a Nutrition degree on the Health Sciences track. She joined the Richardson lab in the Spring of 2017 and assists with various research projects.

Work Study/Laboratory Assistant | esilva@umass.edu

Eileena is an undergraduate pursuing a degree in Biology. She joined the lab in the spring of 2017.