Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Genomic Medicine, UC Davis MIND Institute
Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology, UC Davis School of Medicine
Dr. Beleford is a board-certified clinical geneticist and physician scientist with a research interest in lung physiology and rare genetic vascular diseases (diseases that affect normal blood vessel development). She completed her post-doctoral research studies in vascular biology and human genetics at the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, San Francisco. Her project examined the underlying genetic causes of vascular malformations in Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT), a rare genetic vascular disease. Her research was supported by a T32 training grant through the Lung Biology Program at UCSF. She was also awarded a University of California President's Postdoctoral Fellowship for her study of the role of the genetic modifier PTPN14 in BMP9 and Hippo signaling in HHT. She was recruited to UC Davis in January 2023 and holds joint appointments as an Assistant Professor within the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Genomic Medicine, and within the Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology. Her independent research program investigates BMP9 signaling and the impact of signaling turnover on endothelial integrity in vascular diseases.
Dr. Beleford also completed both residency and fellowship in medical genetics and genomics at the University of California, San Francisco. She was appointed as a Clinical Instructor of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics, during fellowship and was promoted to Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at UCSF in 2022. During her residency and fellowship, she was the lead investigator on three clinical studies characterizing rare pediatric genetic conditions for which she was first author on manuscripts published in American Journal of Medical Genetics and European Journal of Medical Genetics. At UC Davis, she provides medical care for pediatric and adult patients with rare genetic conditions. She also cares for patients of all ages with vascular diseases and is the Medical Director for Adult Genetics for the XY Chromosomal Variation Clinic at the UC Davis MIND Institute.
Dr. Beleford completed the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, MN in 2014, earning both an MD and PhD in biomedical sciences, biochemistry, and molecular biology for her detailed study of the serine protease High temperature requirement A3 (HtrA3) in lung cancer. Her graduate studies, published in Clinical Cancer Research and Journal of Biological Chemistry, furthered our understanding of how HtrA3 is regulated and activated in the lung in response to cigarette smoke and cellular stress.
Dr. Beleford is a graduate of Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, where she majored in Biology with a concentration in Genetics and Development. She grew up in the Bronx and is a first-generation college graduate. When she is not working, she enjoys spending time with her family at their home in Antioch, CA.