Annabelle Flores Bonilla Addiction Neuroscientist and Science Communicator

Research

I am a PhD candidate in the Neuroscience and Behavior Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Under the mentorship of Dr. Heather Richardson, my current research focuses on the effects of alcohol binge drinking on the maturation of oligodendroglial lineage cells and on circuits that undergo myelination during adolescent development. My expected graduation date is May 2026.

As a neuroscientist, I am interested in the neurobiology of resilience. My aim is to understand the cellular and neurocircuit adaptations in response to stress and addiction. Individual and sex differences in these neuroadaptations may elucidate differential mechanisms underlying maladaptive behaviors that are characteristic of alcohol binge drinking, drug addiction, and eating disorders.

Keywords: Resilience, Alcohol, Stress, Addiction, Neuropeptides, Negative affect

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Publications

*Akli and *Flores-Bonilla et al., Submitted for publication. Adolescent drinking causes a loss of aspartoacylase-expressing oligodendrocytes and hypomyelination of anterior cingulate and corpus callosum axons in male mice, but not females. *Authors contributed equally.

Flores-Bonilla et al., 2021. Shortening time for access to alcohol drives up front-loading behavior, bringing consumption in male rats to the level of females. Biology of Sex Differences.

Flores-Bonilla and Richardson, 2020. Sex Differences in Neurobiology of Alcohol Use Disorder.(2020). Alcohol Research Current Reviews.

News

September 28, 2025 - Defended Prospectus and Expected PhD defense in Spring 2026

March 5, 2025 - Abstract accepted at Research Society on Alcohol

August 1, 2024 - Awarded the SFN Trainee Professional Development Award

March 6, 2024 - Presentation at Neuroscience and Behavior Seminar Series

September 21, 2023 - Neuroscience PhD candidate