Beth grew up in Wilmington, Delaware (about 30 minutes outside of Philadelphia, since everyone forgets that poor Delaware is a state), where she fell in love with both science and piano at an early age. Luckily, she was able to study both at Gettysburg College, where she received her B.S. in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology and B.A. in music in 2018. From there, she returned home to Philadelphia to complete her Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology at The University of Pennsylvania, where she performed variant-to-function mapping in microglia in the context of Alzheimer’s disease under the mentorship of Struan Grant and the late Casey Brown. Now, she is jointly mentored as a postdoctoral associate by both J.T. and Melina Claussnitzer as a part of the Type 2 Diabetes Systems Genomics Initiative, where she utilizes optical pooled screening to identify genetic mechanisms of metabolic disease in human adipocyte models.
In her free time, Beth can be found passionately cheering on her favorite Philadelphia sports teams (Go Birds!), crocheting comically large blankets, snuggling her pet rabbit named Penguin, and searching for the best coffee Boston has to offer.

Thom grew up in a rural part of New York’s Capital Region and attended SUNY Buffalo, where they graduated with a B.S. in Pharmacology and Toxicology.

In 2015, an opportunity led them to Boston - first at Massachusetts General Hospital as a Clinical Research Coordinator, then to the Broad Institute in 2017 as a Research Associate. Over the years, Thom took on responsibilities in project and lab management and made the choice to pursue lab management full-time in the summer of 2021. They joined the Broad’s Type 2 Diabetes Systems Genomics Initiative (T2DSGI) as Lab Manager in 2022, supporting both the Neal and Claussnitzer Labs.

In their spare time, Thom takes circus classes and trains an array of disciplines, including static trapeze, corde lisse, handbalancing, juggling, and unicycling. They’re also a four-seasons bicycle commuter, someone that enjoys spending time in wooded forests, and are trying to make the practice of meditation a habit.

Maria grew up in Lebanon and Colombia before attending the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, where she graduated with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering and a B.A. in Chemistry. Maria completed her senior thesis at the University of Miami on the development of ELISA microfluidic devices designed for antibody testing in point of care settings. During her undergraduate studies, Maria interned in Doudna Lab at the University of California Berkeley, where she worked in the discovery of Anti-CRISPR proteins and The Wang Lab at Stanford University, where she worked in the computational analysis of behavioral responses during brain regeneration in planarians. Maria joined the Neal lab in 2020.

Outside the lab, Maria is an avid reader who spends her time devouring mystery books and narrative non-fiction. She also enjoys swimming, combining chemistry and food to create new recipes, and using physics or mathematics to create music.

Arno grew up in Somerville, Massachusetts and graduated from Tufts University with a B.S. in Biochemistry. He joined the Neal Lab as an undergrad in 2021 to pursue practical applications for his coursework towards biomedical research, and later became a full-time member of the lab when he graduated in 2023. Outside of the lab, Arno works as a tutor for high school and college students, and volunteers for a suicide prevention hotline. He also enjoys woodworking, watching horror movies, reading sci-fi, and caring for houseplants in his free time.

Alex is from Jacksonville, Florida and received his BS in Chemistry from the University of Florida. There, he got a taste for research using ancient DNA to study the peopling of the Caribbean. He received his PhD from Cornell University in 2017, where he studied transcriptional regulation of hair follicle stem cells with Doina Tumbar. He then came to Boston as a postdoctoral fellow in Bruce Spiegelman’s lab at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute where he studied the role of phosphocreatine in protein kinase phosphorylation before joining the Neal lab in 2019.

Outside of the lab, Alex is learning to play the violin, bakes, and tries very hard (but often fails) to wake up early enough to make it to masters swimming workouts. His favorite foods are dumplings, ice cream, and grilled cheese sandwiches with strawberry jam.

Emily attended Williams College, where she received a BA with highest honors in Biology. Following graduation in 2016, she joined the Broad Institute Cancer Program as a research associate. She left the Broad in 2018 to enroll in the MD/PhD program at the University of Pennsylvania.

Christian graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Haverford College in Biology in 2016, completed a Master’s degree in Bioengineering, and joined the Neal Lab in 2018. He left the Broad in 2020 to enroll in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences PhD program at Yale.

Julia graduated magna cum laude from the University of Washington with a B.S. in neurobiology, and joined the Neal lab in 2018. She left the Broad in 2021 to enroll in the Genetics PhD program at Stanford University.

Sanam graduated in 2019 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BSPH in environmental health sciences, and joined the Neal lab in 2019. She left the Broad in 2021 to enroll in the MD/PhD program at the University of Pennsylvania.

Varsha graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in Molecular & Cell Biology, and joined the Neal lab in 2019. She left the Broad in 2021 to enroll in the MD program at the University of California San Diego.

Celeste graduated Summa Cum Laude from California State University with a B.S. in Molecular and Microbial Biology and joined the Neal lab in 2018. She left the Broad in 2021 to enroll in the Cancer Biology PhD program at Stanford University.

Yossef Baidi graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a BA in Chemistry and joined the Neal lab in 2019. He left the lab in 2021 to enroll in the Chemical Biology PhD program at Harvard University.

Allie received her PhD in Cellular & Molecular Physiology from Yale in 2020, and joined the Neal lab as a postdoc in 2021 where she focused on the progression of NASH to cancer in the liver.

Mariam graduated from Ain Shams university with a Bachelor of Science majoring in Microbiology and joined the Neal lab in 2019. She left the lab in 2022 to enroll in the Cancer Biology PhD program at the MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

Gunjan graduated with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Rutgers University and joined the Neal lab in 2022. She joined the Broad’s Spatial Technology Platform in 2024.

Jenlu Pagnotta graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and joined the Neal lab in 2022. She left the Broad in 2024 to enroll in the Bioengineering PhD program ant the University of Pennsylvania.

Eddy graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Oral Roberts University in 2019, and joined the Neal Lab in 2021 after working in the Broad Genomics Platform as part of the COVID-19 Diagnostic Team. He left the Broad in 2024 to attend the PhD program at EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Jason graduated from the University of Washington with a B.S. in Neuroscience and joined the Neal lab in 2021. He left the Broad in 2023 to enroll in the MD program at Georgetown University.

Sofia graduated from Tufts University with a B.S. in Biotechnology and Biopsychology, and joined the Neal lab in the summer of 2021. She left the Broad in 2024 to enroll in the MD program at the University of Chicago.