Research Team
Brian Kangas, PhD (Principal Investigator)
Dr. Kangas is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Director of the Translational Pharmacology Laboratory, and Associate Director of the Behavioral Biology Program at McLean Hospital. He is also Chair of the Behavioral Pharmacology Division of the American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.
Research Interests:
The development and empirical validation of animal models and apparatus to assay complex behavioral processes relevant to addiction, pain perception, chronic stress, and neuropsychiatric disorders.
Current Activities:
Leading a research program focusing on diverse pursuits in behavioral biology funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Mental Health, biopharmaceutical industry, Department of Defense, and NASA.
Kayleigh LaMalfa, BS (Research Assistant, 2022-present)
Kayleigh is a Research Assistant in the Kangas Lab. She received her bachelor's degree in Psychology with a minor in Medical Anthropology and a certificate in Community Engagement from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Research Interests:
Improving existing and developing novel pharmacologic treatment options for neuropsychiatric disorders as well as investigating the effects of diverse drug classes on learning and memory.
Current Activities:
Evaluating the preclinical potential of psychedelics as candidate therapeutics for treatment-resistant anhedonia, and using complex behavioral endpoints to assess the cognitive effects of entactogens.
Kangas Lab Publications:
Gonzalez PM, Jenkins AR, LaMalfa KS, Kangas BD (2024). Chronic ecologically relevant stress effects on reverse-translated touchscreen assays of reward responsivity and attentional processes in male rats: Implications for depression. Journal of Neurochemistry, 168, 2190-2200.
Adam AS, LaMalfa KS, Razavi Y, Kohut SJ, Kangas BD (2024). A multimodal preclinical assessment of MDMA in female and male rats: Prohedonic, cognition disruptive, and prosocial effects. Psychedelic Medicine, 2, 96-108.
Francesca Asmus, MS, BS (Research Assistant, 2025-present)
Francesca is a Research Assistant in the Kangas lab. She received her Master of Science in Surgical Neurophysiology from the University of Connecticut and her Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from the University of New England.
Research Interests:
Utilizing electrophysiological recordings in conjunction with behavioral assays to elucidate neural circuitry and improve success rate of neuropsychiatric drug interventions.
Current Activities:
Evaluating the effects of chronic nerve agent analog exposure on behavioral performance to ascertain potential protective measures for warfighters and first responders.
Nick Bloom, BS (Research Assistant, 2025-present)
Nick is a Research Assistant in the Kangas lab. He received his Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a concentration in Behavioral Neuroscience from Fairfield University.
Research Interests:
Investigating psychedelic drug action in the context of therapeutic treatment options for neuropsychiatric disorders.
Current Activities:
Evaluating the interoceptive effects of psychedelics and entactogens in preclinical models; examining the impact of cannabis exposure on adolescent brain/behavior development.
Kangas Lab Alumni
Amaya Jenkins, BS (Research Assistant, 2022-2025)
Current Position: Research Associate and Trainer, Charles River Accelerator and Development Lab
Kangas Lab Accomplishments:
Examined ketamine and ketamine-like ligands for their anti-anhedonic effects via NMDA and non-NMDA mechanisms of action; determined the effects of sleep fragmentation on complex behavioral processes.
Kangas Lab Publications:
Jenkins AR, Radl DB, Kornecook TJ, Pizzagalli DA, Bergman J, Buhl DL, O'Donnell P, Kangas BD (2025). Environmental determinants of ketamine's prohedonic and anti-anhedonic efficacy: Persistence of enhanced reward responsiveness is modulated by chronic stress. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 392, 103572.
Tuck JR, Dunlap LE, Khatib YA, Hatzipantelis CJ, Weiser Novak S, Rahn RM, Davis AR, Mosswood A, Vernier AMM, Fenton EM, Aarrestad IK, Tombari RJ, Carter SJ, Deane Z, Wang Y, Sheridan A, Gonzalez MA, Avanes AA, Powell NA, Chytil M, Engel S, Fettinger JC, Jenkins AR, Carlezon WA Jr, Nord AS, Kangas BD, Rasmussen K, Liston C, Manor U, Olson DE (2025). Molecular design of a therapeutic LSD analogue with reduced hallucinogenic potential. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122, e2416106122.
Gonzalez PM, Jenkins AR, LaMalfa KS, Kangas BD (2024). Chronic ecologically relevant stress effects on reverse-translated touchscreen assays of reward responsivity and attentional processes in male rats: Implications for depression. Journal of Neurochemistry, 168, 2190-2200.
Abdulrahman (Abed) Abbas, BA (Research Assistant, 2024-2025)
Current Position: Associate Consultant, Trinity Life Sciences
Kangas Lab Accomplishments:
Characterized the effects of spaceflight stressors on complex operant processes; studied nerve agent analogs to inform potential strategies to mitigate the adverse CNS effects following exposure to chemical weapons.
Victoria Villamil, BS (Summer Fellow, 2024)
Current Position: Research Assistant, UMass Chan Medical School
Kangas Lab Accomplishments:
Examined the behavioral economics of THC treatment on motivational processes.
Paloma Martinez Gonzalez, BA (Summer Fellow, 2023)
Current Position: Research Assistant, Neurobiology of Fear Laboratory, McLean Hospital
Kangas Lab Accomplishments:
Characterized the effects of chronic stress and environmental enrichment on attentional processes as a means to inform neuropsychiatric treatment strategies.
Kangas Lab Publications:
Gonzalez PM, Jenkins AR, LaMalfa KS, Kangas BD (2024). Chronic ecologically relevant stress effects on reverse-translated touchscreen assays of reward responsivity and attentional processes in male rats: Implications for depression. Journal of Neurochemistry, 168, 2190-2200.
Abshir Adam, BA (Summer Fellow, 2022)
Current Position: Researcher, Lomé Togo
Kangas Lab Accomplishments:
Used reverse-translated behavioral assays to assess the prohedonic effects of entactogens as fast-acting alternatives to frontline psychiatric treatments.
Kangas Lab Publications:
Adam AS, LaMalfa KS, Razavi Y, Kohut SJ, Kangas BD (2024). A multimodal preclinical assessment of MDMA in female and male rats: Prohedonic, cognition disruptive, and prosocial effects. Psychedelic Medicine, 2, 96-108.
Oanh Luc, MS (Research Assistant, 2019-2022)
Current Position: PhD Student, Department of Pharmacology, University of Michigan Medical School
Kangas Lab Accomplishments:
Examined the effects of THC exposure during adolescence on complex behavioral processes, appraised candidate medications designed to be fast-acting antidepressants, and conducted risk assessments of spaceflight stressors for NASA.
Kangas Lab Publications:
Luc OT, Kangas BD (2024). Validation of a touchscreen probabilistic reward task for mice: A reverse-translated assay with cross-species continuity. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 24, 281-288.
Desai RI, Kangas BD, Luc OT, Solakidou E, Smith EC, Dawes MH, Ma X, Makriyannis A, Chatterjee S, Dayeh MA, Muñoz-Jaramillo A, Desai MI, Limoli CL (2023). Complex 33-beam simulated galactic cosmic radiation exposure impacts cognitive function and prefrontal cortex neurotransmitter networks in male mice. Nature Communications, 14, 7779.
Iturra-Mena AM, Kangas BD, Luc OT, Potter D, Pizzagalli DA (2023). Electrophysiological signatures of reward learning in the rodent touchscreen-based Probabilistic Reward Task. Neuropsychopharmacology, 48, 700-709.
Kangas BD, Short AK, Luc OT, Stern HS, Baram TZ, Pizzagalli DA (2022). A cross-species assay demonstrates that reward responsiveness is enduringly impacted by adverse, unpredictable early-life experiences. Neuropsychopharmacology, 4, 767-775.
Luc OT, Pizzagalli DA, Kangas BD (2021). Toward a quantification of anhedonia: Unified matching law and signal detection for clinical assessment and drug development. Perspectives on Behavior Science, 44, 517-540.
Kangas BD, Iturra-Mena AM, Robble MA, Luc OT, Potter D, Nickels S, Bergman J, Carlezon WA, Pizzagalli DA (2021). Concurrent electrophysiological recording and cognitive testing in a rodent touchscreen environment. Scientific Reports, 11, 11665.
Kangas BD, Wooldridge LM, Luc OT, Bergman J, Pizzagalli DA (2020). Empirical validation of a touchscreen probabilistic reward task in rats. Translational Psychiatry, 10, 285.
Lisa Wooldridge, PhD (Research Assistant, 2016-2019)
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Temple University
Kangas Lab Accomplishments:
Examined the antiemetic effects of cannabinoid agonists; appraised novel muscarinic antagonists as fast-acting antidepressants.
Kangas Lab Publications:
Wooldridge LM, Bergman J, Pizzagalli DA, Kangas BD (2021). Translational assessments of reward responsiveness in the marmoset. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 24, 409-418.
Kangas BD, Wooldridge LM, Luc OT, Bergman J, Pizzagalli DA (2020). Empirical validation of a touchscreen probabilistic reward task in rats. Translational Psychiatry, 10, 285.
Wooldridge LM, Ji L, Lui Y, Nikas SP, Makriyannis A, Bergman J, Kangas BD (2020). Antiemetic effects of cannabinoid agonists in nonhuman primates. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 374, 462-468.
Wooldridge LM, Kangas BD (2019). An assay of drug-induced emesis in the squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus). Journal of Medical Primatology, 48, 236-243.
Erica Porter, BS (Research Assistant, 2015-2017)
Current Position: Regulatory Affairs Statistical Data Analyst at BD
Kangas Lab Accomplishments:
Investigated the deleterious effects of self-administered prescription opioids on learning and cognitive flexibility.
Kangas Lab Publications:
Withey SL, Doyle RJ, Porter EN, Bergman J, Kangas BD (2020). Discrimination learning in oxycodone-treated nonhuman primates. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 207, 107778.
Michael Leonard, PhD (Research Assistant, 2011-2015)
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University
Kangas Lab Accomplishments:
Characterized the interoceptive effects of endocannabinoids and catabolic enzyme inhibitors; investigated benzodiazepine/opioid drug combinations on operant nociception.
Kangas Lab Publications:
Leonard MZ, Kangas BD (2020). Effects of oxycodone and diazepam alone and in combination on operant nociception. Behavioural Pharmacology, 31, 168-173.
Leonard MZ, Alapafuja SO, Ji L, Shukla VG, Liu Y, Nikas SP, Makriyannis A, Bergman J, Kangas BD (2017). Cannabinoid CB1 discrimination: Effects of endocannabinoids and catabolic enzyme inhibitors. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 363, 314-323.
Kangas BD, Leonard MZ, Shukla VG, Alapafuja SO, Nikas SP, Makriyannis A, Bergman J (2016). Comparisons of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and anandamide on a battery of cognition-related behavior in nonhuman primates. Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 357, 125-133.
