Top Researchers
Top Neuroscience Researchers at University of Massachusetts Amherst for 2026
Research at the University of Massachusetts Amherst spans many corners of Neuroscience, from sleep and memory to brain development, behavior, and sensory systems. Looking across recent work from the last year, a clear picture emerges of a community connecting molecular mechanisms with cognition, physiology, and health.
Below, you’ll find a curated look at researchers whose recent publications reflect that breadth. Their work shows how neuroscience at UMass Amherst reaches from the lab bench to questions about development, environment, and human experience.
Featured Researchers
Rebecca M. C. Spencer
Rebecca M. C. Spencer’s recent work at the University of Massachusetts Amherst centers on cognitive neuroscience and experimental psychology, with a strong focus on sleep spindles, memory consolidation, and developmental sleep electrophysiology.
Activity over the last year: 6 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Does slow oscillation-spindle coupling contribute to sleep-dependent memory consolidation? A Bayesian meta-analysis (Jul 2025)
- Pediatric sleep electrophysiology: Using polysomnography in developmental cognitive neuroscience (Apr 2025)
- 0106 Decoding Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Sleep Spindles and Their Age-related Effects on Emotional Memory Consolidation (May 2025)
Jianhan Chen
Jianhan Chen’s recent publications at the University of Massachusetts Amherst connect molecular biology and materials chemistry through studies of TRPV4 and BK channel dynamics.
Activity over the last year: 3 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
Raphael E. Arku
Raphael E. Arku’s work at the University of Massachusetts Amherst brings together pollution, health, and speech and hearing research through geospatial studies of urban sound and air environments.
Activity over the last year: 3 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Moving beyond the noise: geospatial modelling of urban sound environments in a sub-Saharan African city (Jul 2025)
- Characterizing air and noise pollution and their determinants in elementary schools in Accra, Ghana (Dec 2025)
- City-wide space-time patterns of environmental noise pollution in Kigali, Rwanda (Nov 2025)
Stephen D. McCormick
Stephen D. McCormick’s recent UMass Amherst research spans aquatic science and ecology, examining how endocrine and autonomic systems shape seasonality and osmoregulation in fish.
Activity over the last year: 4 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
Courtney C. Babbitt
Courtney C. Babbitt’s publications at the University of Massachusetts Amherst explore molecular biology and physiology in the context of neocortical development, astrocyte evolution, and primate brain gene expression.
Activity over the last year: 3 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Shaping the Neocortex: Radial Glia and Astrocytes in Development and Evolution (Nov 2025)
- Exploring the Expanded Role of Astrocytes in Primate Brain Evolution via Changes in Gene Expression (Feb 2025)
- Ecological Trait Differences Are Associated with Gene Expression in the Primary Visual Cortex of Primates (Jan 2025)
Jerrold S. Meyer
Jerrold S. Meyer’s recent work at the University of Massachusetts Amherst focuses on behavioral neuroscience and cellular and molecular neuroscience, especially stress-related methylomic, EEG, and cortisol-linked patterns.
Activity over the last year: 4 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- A Cross-Generational Methylomic Signature of Infant Maltreatment in Newborn Rhesus Macaques (Mar 2025)
- Age-related patterns of resting EEG power in infancy: Associations with prenatal socioeconomic disadvantage (Sep 2025)
- Men of Color Health Awareness intervention: changes in adrenocortical activity assessed using fingernail cortisol (Jul 2025)
Susan E. Hankinson
Susan E. Hankinson’s recent University of Massachusetts Amherst publications bridge oncology, genetics, and public health with metabolome-wide analyses of PTSD symptoms and depression severity.
Activity over the last year: 3 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Persistent PTSD symptoms are associated with plasma metabolic alterations relevant to long-term health: A metabolome-wide investigation in women (Jan 2025)
- Abstract 4368768: Depression Severity is Associated Longitudinally with a Metabolic Profile Related to Psychological Distress and Cardiometabolic Risk (Nov 2025)
Brian Dillon
Brian Dillon’s recent UMass Amherst work sits at the intersection of cognitive neuroscience and language, offering a practical guide to eye tracking for psycholinguistic reading studies.
Activity over the last year: 2 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
What University of Massachusetts Amherst's Neuroscience Community Is Working On
The most common subfields point to a neuroscience community working across cognitive neuroscience, molecular biology, and experimental psychology, with additional threads running through endocrine and autonomic systems. That mix suggests a broad research culture: one group is studying sleep, memory, and development, while others are tracing how channels, hormones, and physiology shape neural function. Together, these projects show active interest in linking mechanisms at the cellular level with behavior, health, and real-world environments.- Cognitive Neuroscience - seen across 2 of the featured researchers
- Molecular Biology - seen across 2 of the featured researchers
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology - seen across 1 of the featured researchers
- Endocrine and Autonomic Systems - seen across 1 of the featured researchers
- Materials Chemistry - seen across 1 of the featured researchers
These recent publications highlight a research community that is both methodologically diverse and tightly connected by shared questions about the brain, body, and behavior. If you want to keep exploring scholarly output, Resub can help you discover related work, organize citations, and streamline manuscript preparation with less friction.
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