Team bios

In 2006, Beasley graduated from the University of North Florida with a Bachelor of Science followed by a Master of Science in biomedical diagnostics in 2017. She joined Mayo Clinic's Department of Neuroscience in 2006, focusing on Parkinson's disease research. In 2010, Beasley became the manager of Dr. Ross' lab, where she oversees projects and assumes responsibility for the day-to-day operation of laboratory activities. This includes the design of research studies and experiments.

Over the years, Beasley has continued to learn and develop new techniques and data analysis skills to advance in the rapidly evolving field of genetics. She has mentored many visiting clinical research fellows, summer undergraduate research fellows through the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program, undergraduate students and various research volunteers.

Christopher graduated in 2004 from the University of North Florida with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing, and in 2011 with an MBA. She joined Mayo Clinic's Department of Neuroscience in 2012 to oversee sample collection and management for a lab focusing on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia. She joined the Ross lab in 2021.

In 2020, Gavrielatos graduated from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) Department of Biology. His undergraduate studies focused on molecular biology, biochemistry and bioinformatics.

While working on his bachelor's thesis, Gavrielatos acquired a deep understanding of sequencing technologies and their potential in genomic studies. In 2023, he acquired a Master of Science in bioinformatics and biomedical data science from the NKUA Department of Informatics.

Gavrielatos developed an interpretable machine learning model to predict mild cognitive impairment using activity data as part of his thesis project. At the same time, he participated in various bioinformatics competitions and won the gold medal in the Cancer Immunotherapy Data Science Grand Challenge organized by the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Center at the Broad Institute.

Following graduation, Gavrielatos joined Dr. Ross' lab at Mayo Clinic. His current research interests lie in the discovery of novel structural variants and single-nucleotide polymorphisms using long-read sequence data.

Heckman received a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics (statistics emphasis) from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2001 and a Master of Science degree in statistics (biostatistics emphasis) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2003. He has worked in the Division of Clinical Trials and Biostatistics at Mayo Clinic since 2003, with a current position of principal biostatistician.

Heckman's primary research interests involve the statistical analysis of genetic-association data.

Dr. Martinez Pena joined the team in October 2024. He earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Guadalajara in Mexico in 2019. He went on to complete a Master of Science in biotechnology with a focus on regenerative and stem cell technologies at Johns Hopkins University in 2023.

Before joining Mayo Clinic, Dr. Martinez Pena conducted a postdoctoral research fellowship in the Department of Dermatology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine under the mentorship of Luis Garza, M.D., Ph.D. His work centered on advancing cell therapy for skin identity modification. Also, during his medical training, he collaborated with a University of Guadalajara research group on the clinical evaluation of individuals with disorders of sexual development from the Medical Genetics Department at the Hospital Civil de Guadalajara.

Dr. Martinez Pena also is passionate about education and mentorship, and he is always open to help and teach. He has served as an adjunct professor in research methodologies for the Dermatology Residency Program at the Hospital Civil de Guadalajara. His multidisciplinary expertise in medicine, biotechnology and research supports his interests in advanced protein and biomolecular techniques, disease biomarker discovery, developmental biology, and bioinformatics.

Dr. Ren received a Bachelor of Science degree in bioinformatics from Soochow University in China in 2007, a Master of Science degree in genetics from the University of Nebraska Omaha in 2009, and a Ph.D. degree in genetics and genomics from Florida State University in 2015. She joined the Department of Health Sciences Research at Mayo Clinic in 2015 as a bioinformatician.

Dr. Ren's research interests center on method development for the analysis of complex diseases.

In 2020, Tamvaka received her Bachelor of Science degree in neuroscience and mathematics from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. While there, she studied the behavioral implications of methamphetamine addiction. During her undergraduate studies, she also interned in Dr. Ross' lab through the SURF program, studying mitochondrial genetic variation and investigating the presence of nonhuman genetic material in different neurodegenerative disorders.

Following graduation, Tamvaka joined Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences as a Neuroscience Track Ph.D. student in Dr. Ross' lab. Her current research interests involve investigating the genomic and transcriptomic features of rare movement disorders.

In 2021, Tran graduated magna cum laude from Whitman College with a Bachelor of Arts in biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology with a minor in mathematics and statistics. While at Whitman College, Tran carried out several independent projects in the laboratory of Michael Coronado, Ph.D. She studied how mitochondria undergo dynamic processes under physiological conditions, such as exercise, and pathological conditions, such as ischemia.

Tran's interest in biomedical science was strengthened with her participation in the SURF program in the laboratory of DeLisa Fairweather, Ph.D., at Mayo Clinic, where she had the chance to observe how basic science translates into patient care through the study of sex differences in mitochondrial genes in myocarditis. These experiences shaped her passion to continue her education in biomedical science, aiming to decipher the unresolved role of mitochondria in neurodegenerative diseases.

Following graduation, Tran joined Dr. Ross' laboratory and Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences as a doctoral student in the Clinical and Translational Science Track. Her thesis project highlights her ongoing interest in mitochondria, primarily focusing on using state-of-the-art long-read sequencing to uncover the genetic architecture of early-onset Parkinson's disease. Tran also is adapting existing mitochondrial DNA tools to characterize mtDNA heteroplasmy and complex structural variants, creating a computationally compatible pipeline that can be applied to long-read technology.

Watkins earned her Bachelor of Science in biology with a chemistry minor from Robert Morris University in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, in 2021. After completing her undergraduate studies, she gained experience as a research trainee studying cardiovascular diseases in the lab of DeLisa Fairweather, Ph.D., at Mayo Clinic. She entered the Clinical and Translational Science Track within Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in 2022 and joined Dr. Ross' lab for her thesis shortly thereafter.

Watkins' research examines phenotypic modifiers of Lewy body dementia.