Puig Lab Team
The Puig Lab is a group of dedicated individuals working together to identify new targets to make opioids safer and decrease the incidence of addiction. Learn more about our research goals here.
Dr. Stephanie Puig, M.S., Ph.D (She/Her)
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Stephanie.Puig1@umassmed.edu
Twitter: @StefPuig
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-puig/
Dr. Puig holds a Masters in Neuroscience and Physiology from the Universty Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris, France), and a Ph.D. in Neuropharmacology from the University of Paris Descartes (Paris, France). Her thesis work on neurobiology of addiction and her postdoctoral training on mechanisms of opioid signaling and pain have led her to develop a research program focused on mechanisms at the intersection of chronic opioid use for the treatment of pain and prevention of side-effects and opioid addiction. She is always excited to learn and share ideas with current and new collaborators, so please do not hesitate to reach out to chat!
Current Members
Anita Khasnavis (She/her)
1st-Year Ph.D. Student, UMass Chan Medical School GSBS
Anita.Khasnavis@umassmed.edu
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/anita-khasnavis-0b8873115/
ORCID iD: 0009-0007-7218-3503
Anita graduated from Vassar College in 2019 with a B.A . in Neuroscience, after working in a lab focusing on dopaminergic signaling's effect on FXS behaviors in mice (Poughkeepsie, NY). After college, she spent two years teaching 7th and 8th grade science in Hartford Connecticut through Teach for America. Before matriculating into UMass Chan Medical School, Anita spent two years at Massachusetts General Hospital as a lab technician in the Hyman Lab studying Alzheimer's disease and the role of tau in pathology development in mice (Boston, MA). She is currently a first-year student at UMass Chan Medical School in the GSBS. In her free time, Anita enjoys crocheting, listening to audiobooks, and annoying her new cat!
Matt Fanelli (He/his)
1st-Year Ph.D Student, UMass Chan Medical School GSBS
matthew.fanelli@umassmed.edu
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/matt-fanelli-704b691a7/
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-0022-7673
Matt graduated from The College of the Holy Cross in 2021 with a B.A in Psychology and spent two and a half years in Ryan Mruczek’s Lab, investigating the effects of visual illusions on the mammalian visual system. Following his undergraduate studies in psychology, he transitioned to working as a research lab technician for two years in the Walker Lab at UMASS Chan Medical School, focusing on the role of lipid dysfunction in secretory stress and aging in C. Elegans. He is currently a first-year student in the GSBS at UMASS Chan and is interested in pursuing research in neurobiology/neuroplasticity. Outside of lab, he enjoys listening to all sorts of music, reading a good book, or going for a run!
Angelique Buton, M.S. (She/her)
Research Associate III
Angelique.Buton@umassmed.edu
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/angélique-buton-263035116
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-8937-5535
Angelique holds a Masters in Genetic and Genomics from the University of Nantes (France). She went on to work in pharmaceutical industry in a CRO (Archamps, France) as an animal technician then as a project manager where she was involved in preclinical studies utilizing humanized immune system mouse models. Her focus was on cancer research and is excited to join the opioids research community. Outside the lab, Angelique enjoys reading thrillers books, cooking and hiking to discover new and beautiful views/landscapes.
The Puig Lab is currently recruiting at all levels!
Join our team
Puig Lab Alumni
Luca Posa, PharmD., Ph.D.
Luca is a former postdoctoral fellow in the Puig Lab. He received his B.Sc. in Biology and later his Pharm.D., both from the University of Bologna (Bologna, Italy). During his Pharm.D., Luca studied the rationale of opioid treatment during a rotation at the University of Paris Descartes. He then pursued his Ph.D. in Psychiatry at McGill University (Montreal, Canada), where he used cutting-edge techniques to study the interaction between the melatonergic and opioid systems in the antinociceptive pathway and reward. He received the Fonds de Recherche- Santé du Québec Fellowship and the Edwards Studentship in Pain Research. Luca moved to the University of Maryland (College Park, Maryland) as postdoctoral fellow to study the role of monoamines in chronic pain condition, and later joined the Puig’s lab at Boston University (Boston, Massachusetts) where he is investigating the neural circuitry and cellular determinants of opioid analgesic tolerance. When not in lab, Luca loves cooking, hiking, music, and exploring the wonderful city of Boston.
Luca is now a postdoctoral fellow at Cornell University in New York!