team members
Alissa M. D’Gama, MD, PhD
Principal Investigator Attending Physician, Division of Newborn Medicine Director, Neonatal Neurogenetics Program Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Alissa is a neonatologist and scientist in the Division of Newborn Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital, where she serves as Director of the Neonatal Neurogenetics Program. She is also an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.
Alissa received her AB in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Harvard College in 2011 and then crossed the Charles River to train in the Harvard/MIT MD-PhD Program. She received her PhD under the mentorship of Dr. Christopher Walsh from Harvard Medical School through the Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program in 2016 and her MD from Harvard Medical School through the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Program in 2018. Alissa completed pediatrics residency training in the Boston Combined Residency Program on the Accelerated Research Pathway in 2020 and neonatal-perinatal medicine fellowship training in the Harvard Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Training Program, where she served as Chief Fellow, in 2024. For her postdoctoral training, Alissa was mentored by Drs. Annapurna Poduri and Timothy Yu at Boston Children’s Hospital. She started her own laboratory at Boston Children’s Hospital in 2025.
Outside of the hospital and the lab, Alissa enjoys spending time with her family (including her great pyrenees) and friends, traveling and trying new restaurants, and brewing tea.
Favorite local restaurant: Oleana in Cambridge
Beth R. Sheidley, MS, CGC
Co-Investigator Director, Genetic Counseling, Department of Neurology
Beth is a licensed genetic counselor with over 30 years of experience in clinical genetic counseling, research, and teaching. Her areas of expertise include epilepsy, autism, psychiatric illness, and both prenatal and pediatric genetic counseling. Beth is the Director of Genetic Counseling for the Department of Neurology at Boston Children’s Hospital and co-founder/past Co-Director of the Epilepsy Genetics Program.
Beth provides genetic counseling to families, supervises the genetic counseling and clinical/clinical research staff, oversees the implementation of research efforts, and is a Co-Investigator for the Gene-STEPS study. She is a founding member and Chair of EpiGC, an international network of genetic counselors who specialize in epilepsy genetics and who are dedicated to the education of both providers and families. Beth also serves on the Epilepsy Foundation’s Professional Advisory Board and is the Co-Editor of genetics content for the Epilepsy Foundation’s website.
Beth received her BS from Cornell University in 1990 and her MS in genetic counseling from Brandeis University in 1994. She joined the Department of Neurology at Boston Children’s Hospital in 2010. Beth also served as Professor of the Practice/Co-Director of Research and Professional Development for the Brandeis University Genetic Counseling Graduate Program from 2005 through June of 2014.
Favorite local restaurant: The Helmand Restaurant in Cambridge
LACEY SMITH, MS, CGC
Co-Investigator Senior Genetic Counseling Program Manager, Epilepsy Genomics, Department of Neurology
Lacey is a clinical and academic genetic counselor who joined the Epilepsy Genetics Program and Department of Neurology at Boston Children’s Hospital in May of 2014, where she serves as the Genetic Counseling Program Manager for Epilepsy Genomics. Her research interests aim to better understand the genetic contributions to the epilepsies, particularly through our genome-wide sequencing studies and collaborative gene discovery and phenotyping efforts. She is a coordinator of the ClinGen Epilepsy Sodium Channel Variant Curation Expert Panel, incorporating both gene- and disease-specific expertise into modifying variant classification rules. Lacey is a founding member of EpiGC, an international network of genetic counselors who specialize in epilepsy genetics and who are dedicated to the education of both providers and families, and is a member of the professional advisory board of the Epilepsy Foundation of New England.
Lacey received her BS in Biological Science from the University of Vermont and her MS in Genetic Counseling from Brandeis University.
Favorite local restaurant: Lacey enjoys grabbing tapas at Barcelona in Brookline and Cambridge, or trying out any new vegan spot that opens up!
WANQING SHAO, PHD
Genomic Scientist
Wanqing joined Research Computing at Boston Children's Hospital in 2021 as a Genomic Scientist, where she leads and engages in computational analyses for the Children's Rare Disease Collaborative. Wanqing earned her PhD under the mentorship of Dr. Julia Zeitlinger at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, where she focused on employing genomic approaches to study transcription initiation and RNA polymerase II pausing. She then pursued postdoctoral training at Washington University School of Medicine with Dr. Ting Wang, developing computational methodologies to explore the transcriptional and epigenetic landscapes of transposable elements.
Wanqing is passionate about all facets of computational work and finds immense satisfaction in applying computational approaches to solve intricate biological questions. She has worked closely with Alissa on translational neurogenetics projects since joining BCH.
Outside of work, Wanqing enjoys playing video games, watching YouTube, reading, and spending quality time with her family and her furry companion.
Favorite local restaurant: Jade Garden in Boston
MAYA DAVIS, BA
Clinical Research Assistant
Maya graduated from Wellesley College in 2023 with a BA in Biological Sciences and a minor in Psychology. She joined the Poduri Lab and Epilepsy Genetics Program at Boston Children’s Hospital in 2023 and is continuing research with the D’Gama Lab. Maya enjoys recruiting and enrolling families into genetic testing research studies. She loves to work with people with disabilities and plans to become a genetic counselor.
Outside of work, Maya likes to explore Boston, play board games with friends, go to the beach, solve crossword puzzles, and get lost in Wikipedia.
Favorite local restaurant: Grasshopper in Allston — a vegetarian restaurant with delicious Chinese food!
ANNA DONG, BA
Clinical Research Assistant
Anna joined the Poduri Lab and Epilepsy Genetics Program at Boston Children’s Hospital as a Clinical Research Assistant in 2024 and is continuing research with the D’Gama Lab. In her role, she connects with families to enroll them in genetic testing studies, as well as conducts genomic variant analysis to identify genetic causes of epilepsy. Anna graduated from Harvard College in 2024 with a B.A. in neuroscience. She hopes to pursue an MD and build upon her interest in pediatric neurology.
Outside of work, Anna enjoys baking, going on long walks with her golden retriever, and attempting to knit.
Favorite local restaurant: Alden & Harlow in Cambridge
LILI Mihajlovits, BS, BA
Research Assistant
Lili joined the Poduri Lab and Epilepsy Genetics Program at Boston Children’s Hospital in 2024 as a Research Assistant and is continuing research with the D’Gama Lab. She graduated from Union College in June 2024, where she earned her B.S. in Neuroscience and B.A. in Spanish. In her role, Lili consents families to studies and analyzes participants' genetic data to find variants responsible for epilepsy. She plans to pursue a master's degree in genetic counseling and continue working to ensure NICU babies receive the necessary genetic testing.
Outside of work, Lili enjoys hiking, going to the beach, and running.
Favorite local restaurant: Lolita in Boston
KATELYN STONE, BS
Clinical Research Assistant
Katelyn joined the Poduri Lab and Epilepsy Genetics Program at Boston Children’s Hospital in July of 2024 and is continuing research with the D’Gama Lab. She graduated from Northeastern in May of 2024 with a BS in Cell and Molecular Biology and a minor in Business Administration. In this role, Katelyn is currently enrolling patients into the genetic testing research studies and analyzing genomes to determine if there is a genetic cause of the patient’s epilepsy. She plans to become a doctor and continue to bring answers to patients and their families.
Outside of work, she enjoys swimming, running, line dancing, and photography.
Favorite local restaurant: Toro in Boston
