Thomas J. Gould, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator of NILA
219 Biobehavioral Health Bldg

University Park, PA 16802

Thomas.Gould@psu.edu

Dr. Gould is currently interested in the neurobiology of learning and memory with a specific focus on identifying the cellular and molecular events that underlie the effects of nicotine and ethanol on learning and memory. To that end, the NILA lab uses neurobiological, behavioral, pharmacological, genetic, and molecular techniques to investigate the effects of drugs of abuse on learning, with a specific emphasis on how those effects change as drug administration transitions from acute to chronic drug use, and then to withdrawal. Current projects in the lab include systems genetic analysis of cognitive deficits during nicotine withdrawal, understanding transgenerational effects of paternal nicotine exposure, examination of long-term effects of adolescent nicotine or ethanol exposure,  and assessment of genetic factors influencing ethanol’s effects on learning.

Lisa R. Goldberg, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Scholar
130 Biobehavioral Health Bldg
University Park, PA 16802
lrg33@psu.edu

Lisa is a post-doctoral scholar who joined the NILA lab in November 2017. She received her Ph.D. in Biomedical Neuroscience from Boston University School of Medicine, under the guidance of her advisor, Dr. Camron Bryant. Her dissertation work focused on utilizing both forward and reverse genetics to identify genetic factors involved in opioid reward and aversion. Her research interests include identify genetic factors that affect susceptibility to nicotine withdrawal symptoms, as well as transgenerational inheritance of epigenetic changes associated with drug use.   

Carlos Novoa

Graduate Student
118 Biobehavioral Health Bldg
University Park, PA 16802
carlos.novoa@psu.edu

Carlos obtained a Master’s degree in Psychology at Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Bogota, D.C. in 2021. As a Research Assistant at Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Carlos participated in projects studying the effects of acute stress on different stages of memory and the long-term effects of nicotine on spatial learning among young and adult rats. Carlos enrolled in the Ph.D. program in Biobehavioral Health and joined the NILA lab as a graduate student in the fall of 2021. He is most interested in the neural mechanism by which drugs produce long-term adaptations in behavioral processes involving emotion, learning, and memory. He is also interested in the implementation and development of quantitative methods in Experimental Psychology.

Samantha Murray

Undergraduate Student
118 Biobehavioral Health Bldg
University Park, PA 16802
sjm6752@psu.edu

Samantha is an undergraduate studying Biobehavioral Health and Psychology. Her research interests are drug and substance uses’ neurological effects and individuals genetic predispositions to addiction. She is currently working on a study focusing on acute ethanol effects in adolescents across different genetic strains.  She also supports other projects in the laboratory through data collections and behavioral experiments.

Elisa Afiouni

Undergraduate Student
118 Biobehavioral Health Bldg
University Park, PA 16802
ega5084@psu.edu

Elisa is a BBH undergraduate senior planning to attend Physician Assistant school. She has always been fascinated by the sciences, specifically neuroscience, and knew she would participate in research one day! She is excited to learn more about how the brain functions, the effects of drugs on learning and memory processes, and incorporating what she learns in the medical field as a future PA. Some of her hobbies include traveling, volunteering, cooking, and trying new things! 

Kaisha Shamari

Undergraduate Student
118 Biobehavioral Health Bldg
University Park, PA 16802
ksg5299@psu.edu