Beery's research lab studies the neurobiology of prosocial behavior, using group-living rodents to focus on pathways supporting affiliative social behavior between peers and a variety of species and behavioral paradigms.

In a second line of research, lab participants study the role of early life experience on development of later social behaviors and epigenetic mechanisms (among others) by which experience changes the brain and behavior. The lab studies stress in the context of its effects on affiliative behaviors, as well as connections between anxiety and social behavior as a function of early experience.