Barresi was a biology major and studio art minor at Merrimack College. He pursued his doctoral research on muscle fiber type development at Wesleyan University and completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Massachusetts Amherst investigating the development of the zebrafish forebrain. Barresi's laboratory at Smith investigates the molecular and cellular mechanisms governing the development of neural stem cells, brain wiring and neurodevelopmental responses to environmental toxins. In the classroom, he pioneered the use of web conferencing, documentary movie making and active learning pedagogies, such as course-based research. Barresi created the NSF-funded "Student Scientists" outreach program and was the recipient of the 2012 Sherrerd Prize for Distinguished Teaching at Smith College. Lou Ann Bierwert