Yann Klimentidis, PhD: Yann received his PhD in Evolutionary Anthropology, studying genetic admixture among Hispanics and Native Americans in New Mexico. He is generally interested in human genetics and evolution, genetic epidemiology, and populations genetics. His research has focused on the genetics and epidemiology of cardiometabolic disease, body composition, Alzheimer’s disease, and physical activity. The broad goals of our research are to: 1) understand mechanisms of disease, 2) identify risk factors for disease, 3) understand health disparities, and 4) improve prediction of disease risk. Approaches include genome-wide association studies, Mendelian randomization, gene-by-environment interactions, and genetic ancestry studies.

Amit Arora, MD, MPH: Amit received his MD from Dayanand Medical College, India and MPH from COPH at U of A. He has worked as a research specialist for almost 5 years at different labs. His research interests include Genetic Epidemiology, Bioinformatics and computational biology and his current research is focused on genetics of cardio-metabolic traits, T2D and pulmonary vascular disease. He is also currently pursuing his MS in Biomedical Informatics at College of Health Solutions at ASU.

Gayatri Arani, MD: Gayatri is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at MEZCOPH. She has a bachelor’s in Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery from NTR University for Health Sciences and a Master’s in Public Health Epidemiology from Oregon State University. She is interested in studying the causality and mechanisms of chronic diseases using cutting-edge genetic epidemiology methods and tools. Currently, she is interested in understanding the risk factors of neurodegenerative diseases. Apart from work and school, she enjoys listening to old Hindi music and practicing singing. 

Jennifer Kraszewski: Jennifer has an MPH in Health Policy from George Washington University and an MS in Epidemiology from Columbia University. She is interested in the intersection of aging, inflammation and infection and gene-environment interactions. Her projects include investigating the association between BMI and social determinants of health in the All of Us cohort and the relationship between inflammation and development of Alzheimer’s disease in the UK Biobank.

Katherine Mendoza: Katherine is a PhD student in MEZCOPH’s Department of Epidemiology with a prior MPH from the same institution. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Lake Forest College. With over 20 years of experience in public health and research, Katherine is passionate about exploring the relationship between mental health and chronic diseases utilizing genetic epidemiology methods. Outside academia, Katherine serves as a manager in clinical trials for the Division of Nephrology at COM. She also enjoys vintage hunting and long walks with her rescue pups.

Jingyue Wu: I have a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from the University of Technology Sydney and a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Melbourne. I am particularly passionate about exploring the intricate relationships between adiposity and various chronic diseases through a genetic perspective. Additionally, I am intrigued by the exploration of whether adiposity may exhibit a protective effect in certain circumstances.

Shuai Yang: Shuai Yang is a Ph.D. student in epidemiology at MEZCOPH, having previously earned his Master’s from the University of Glasgow and Bachelor’s from Beijing Sport University. With experience participating in the UK Biobank study at the BHF Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Center, his research interests focus on the impact of lifestyle factors (such as diet, PA, and sleep) on health outcomes, chronic diseases (including diabetes, hypertension, CVD, cancer, and dementia), and aging, particularly sarcopenia. In his personal life, Shuai enjoys sports and cooking, and he is a licensed physiotherapist and certified fitness coach in China.

Michelle Newell, MS: I earned an MS in epidemiology in 2020. After earning my undergraduate degree, I worked in a genetic diagnostic lab for multiple years and decided to return to school to learn more data analysis skills. My research interests include using genetics to learn more about modifiable risk factors and causality of chronic illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, and T2D.