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Dr. Weera is the Evans Family Assistant Professor at Tufts University. Dr. Weera received a BS degree in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology from Michigan State University, and a PhD in Neuroscience from Purdue University. He completed postdoctoral training at LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, where he received an F32 National Research Service Award and K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the National Institutes of Health.

Jessica Babb, PhD

Dr. Babb has been conducting behavioral neuroscience research in rodent models for more than 20 years. She received her PhD in neuroscience from the University of Colorado in 2013 and then returned to her home state of Massachusetts for postdoctoral positions at Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and Boston Children's Hospital before becoming an Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School/VA Boston Healthcare System in 2018. Dr. Babb is interested in how stress, sex, and hormones impacts substance misuse and addiction.

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Herbert Covington, PhD

Dr. Covington trained under Dr. Klaus Miczek at Tufts University, where he received a PhD, and completed postdoctoral training under Dr. Eric Nestler at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Covington’s current collaborative research with the Weera Lab is focused on the neurocircuitry and neuropharmacology of aggression, particularly in the context of alcohol intoxication.

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Negin Mohammadmirzaei, PhD

Negin has a PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Delaware, an MS in Animal Physiology, and a BS in Animal Biology, both from the University of Tehran. Her current work is focused on understanding brain circuits that are disrupted by traumatic stress, and how they contribute to avoidance behaviors and alcohol drinking.
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Micah Frier

Micah graduated from New York University in 2020 with a B.S. in Neural Science and a Minor in Philosophy. During his undergraduate studies, he worked in Dr. David Sulzer's lab, focusing on the neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration of the basal ganglia. He spent the following two years at Dr. Yasmin Hurd's lab, focusing on the neurobiological impacts of heroin and cannabis abuse. Micah then pursued a Master's Degree in Philosophy of Medicine and Psychiatry from King’s College London. Here at Tufts, Micah is studying the neurobiology of behavioral dysregulation following chronic alcohol exposure.

Sydney Bonauto

Sydney received her BA in Neuroscience from Bowdoin College in 2023. During her time there she worked with Dr. Jenn Honeycutt to examine the sex-specific effects of early life adversity on affective processing of rat ultrasonic vocalization playback. At Tufts, Sydney is continuing her focus on affective and translational neuroscience by studying the neural factors that drive the relationship between stressors and alcohol drinking using animal models. 
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Olivia Brunke

Olivia received a BS degree in Neuroscience from Tulane University in 2023. During her undergraduate studies, Olivia worked in the lab of Dr. Tiffany Wills (LSU Health) on projects that investigate the neurobiological consequences of adolescent alcohol exposure. At Tufts, Olivia helps manage the Addiction Neuroscience Lab and works on projects related to the neurobiology of stress and alcohol interactions.

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Henrique Vieira

Henrique graduated with a BS in Neuroscience and Psychology from Arizona State University in 2025. During his undergraduate studies, he worked with Dr. Jessica Verpeut, exploring the role of long-distance cerebellar circuits in neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). At Tufts, Henrique’s research is focused on the neurocircuitry of alcohol-heightened aggression. 
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Brittany Blasetti

Brittany graduated from Tufts University with an MS degree in Experimental Psychology in 2025. Her thesis focused on aggression seeking behavior in female mice.

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