Cristian Beza-Beza

Cristian was born in La Ermita, Chiquimula, a small village from Guatemala, where he developed a deep love for nature in his mountainous surroundings, sparking a lifelong passion for biodiversity. He completed his biology degree in Universidad del Valle de Guatemala before moving to the U.S. for his Master’s at Wichita State University and his Ph.D. at the University of Memphis. The work done during his educational journey has successfully resolved long-standing taxonomic issues, helped develop new models to decode the temporal and geographical history of bess beetles (Coleoptera: Passalidae), and shed light on biogeographic patterns in the New World.

When he was a President’s Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Minnesota, he investigated the evolutionary origins of the unique bess beetle fauna of the West Indies. Prior to that, as a postdoc at NC State, he led the phylogenetic work on an NSF-funded project studying the evolution of parasitism in blow flies, focusing on the role of their microbiomes. Beyond research, Cristian is a dedicated educator. He has been the lead instructor for multiple lectures and lab courses in the United States, Guatemala, and Colombia. His work is deeply tied to natural history collections, and he has extensive experience in collection management, taxonomy, and using museum specimens for research.