People

Faculty ProfileX (formerly Twitter)

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

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.

LinkedIn X (formerly Twitter)

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.

LinkedIn

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.

Brittany Blasetti

Brittany received an A.A. and B.A. in Psychology from Bunker Hill Community College as well as Tufts University in 2020. Her past research experience broadly spans several domains within Psychology, including social perception and fMRI at Harvard University, dynamic female aggression in the Miczek Psychopharmacology lab at Tufts, and exercise as a neuropsychological tool in aiding Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease in Veterans at the Boston V.A. Medical Center. Professionally, Brittany has worked in Clinical Trials at The University of Vermont Medical Center and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She is interested in the intersection of aggression and trauma, and how misused substances impact maladaptive behaviors like aggression and addiction.
LinkedInX (formerly Twitter)
 

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. Here at Tufts, Sydney is interested in continuing her focus on translational and affective neuroscience by studying the neural factors driving the relationship between stressors and alcohol drinking using animal models. 
LinkedIn  X (formerly Twitter)