Happy Genetic Counseling Match Day! Today we are celebrating the genetic counseling graduate program match day by discussing how to prepare and what to expect during the first year. We also provide advice for applicants that didn’t match in this cycle and offer inspiration to apply next round. In a way this is a follow up episode from the application process discussions. If you are thinking about or planning on applying to genetic counseling grad schools check out those episodes. Episode 87 was ...
Apr 26, 2019•31 min•Ep. 101
This show is a landmark episode, number 100! I want to sincerely thank all you listeners, new and old, for tuning in. It’s been such a fantastic experience over the last 7 years to share news and interviews with you all and learn along with you. I hope you’ve enjoyed listening to the shows as much as I have have enjoyed recording and producing them. Author Carl Zimmer joins me to discuss new and old hereditary concepts. He writes the Matter column for the New York Times and has contributed to Th...
Apr 05, 2019•34 min•Ep. 100
Two leaders from the Coriell Institute for Medical Research join the show to discuss biobanking. Nahid Turan, Chief Laboratory Officer, and Alissa Resch, Chief Scientific Officer, lead separate aspects of the Institute scientific efforts. Coriell is known for its impact in the world of biobanking. If you’ve ordered biological materials in the past for research, there’s a good chance you’ve ordered from them before. In its 65 year history, Coriell has partnered with many federal, private and nonp...
Mar 01, 2019•30 min•Ep. 99
To celebrate and honor Rare Disease Awareness month (February) Lydia Seiders joins me on the show. She is a volunteer Maryland State Ambassador for NORD, t he National Organization for Rare Disorders , through NORD’s advocacy arm the Rare Action Network. Her daughter was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a form of bone marrow failure. This motivated Lydia to become an Ambassador for NORD. In this role, she leads about 200 network members across the state to raise awareness for approximately 600,00...
Feb 01, 2019•26 min•Ep. 98
A panel of four incoming genetic counseling graduate schools discuss the application process. This is part two of two podcasts, discussing the second portion of the application cycle: interviews, ranking, and matching. Episode 87 was the first part of this conversation where we discussed how to gather the experience and classes to have a competitive application. We also surveyed over 50 incoming genetic counseling students (enrolling Fall 2018) who went through the last application process, whic...
Jan 04, 2019•35 min•Ep. 97
Jim Cavan, CEO and President of Backpack Health is featured on this episode. He has great passion for helping healthcare companies tackle systemic problems, and 20 years of executive health research and startup leadership experience. The development of Backpack Health is the result of several key goals of his, including improved access to and control of medical information, and less obtrusive collection of research data. Backpack Health is a mobile and cloud-based app that helps people with chro...
Dec 21, 2018•27 min•Ep. 96
Author Laura Kieger and her son, Dr. Alexander Kieger, share their family’s courageous, century-long struggle with a rare genetic cancer syndrome, Familial Adenomatous Polyposis. Familial adenomatous polyposis is a rare, genetic cancer predisposition syndrome caused by a deletion mutation in the APC gene on chromosome 5. By the age of 40, nearly 99% of untreated patients will develop cancer. This is the dark shadow that has lingered over their family since at least 1911, when Mary Regan Baker wa...
Dec 07, 2018•30 min•Ep. 95
Dr. Biju Parekkadan is a Co-Creator and Scientific Director of the hard science graphic novel, Legend of Sumeria . He is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering with a research lab that specializes in cell and genetic engineering. His discoveries have been published in prestigious journals with patented inventions that have led to the foundation of several companies. He received his bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and a doctorate from the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Techn...
Nov 16, 2018•32 min•Ep. 94
Members from Team Telomere (formerly DC Outreach), a community for telomere biology disorders join me for this episode. This panel includes patient advocate Katie Stevens, Dr. Sharen Savage, and Dr. Suneet Agarwal. They provide information and support services to families worldwide who are affected by these disorders, encourage the medical community’s research in finding causes and effective treatments, and facilitate improved diagnosis by educating medical providers. Katie Stevens is the Execut...
Nov 02, 2018•34 min•Ep. 93
Dr. Erin Young discusses the role genetics play in pain susceptibilities. She is an Assistant Professor of both the School of Nursing and Genetics and Genomic Sciences at the University of Connecticut. Her career has been focused on studying genetic contributions to pain susceptibility, for which she has published numerous papers sharing her findings. She received her BA at Wesleyan College, and her MA and PhD at Kent State University. She also completed two postdoctoral fellowships, at Texas A&...
Oct 19, 2018•24 min•Ep. 92
Ellen Matloff is the President and CEO of My Gene Counsel . Ellen is the founder and former director of the Cancer Genetic Counseling Program at Yale School of Medicine. Ellen has authored more than 50 scientific publications in the field, is an established educator, lecturer and media spokesperson and has received national awards for her ongoing patient advocacy efforts. She is an outspoken patient advocate in many areas, most notably as a plaintiff in the 2013 BRCA gene patent case that went b...
Oct 05, 2018•30 min•Ep. 91
Erica Ramos is the 2018 President of the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) . She builds products, programs and strategy in the genomics and genetic counseling arenas with expertise in rare disease and predictive genome sequencing. Erica is currently director and head of Clinical & Business Development for Geisinger National Precision Health . This Episode We Discuss: Elevator Pitch of Genetic Counseling Ramos’ Career Background Goal of NSGC Ramos’ role as President of NSGC Biggest Ch...
Sep 21, 2018•39 min•Ep. 90
Dr. Andrew Ury is the CEO and Founder of ActX , one of the leading companies in electronic health record integrated genomic decision support. He previously founded and was CEO of the first commercial electronic medical record company, Practice Partner . He is also the co-founder of one of the leading practice-based research networks, PPrNet . Dr. Ury helped found and was twice the vice-chair of the Electronic Health Record Assoc (EHRA). He is a graduate of Stanford Medical School. This Episode W...
Sep 07, 2018•26 min•Ep. 89
Ira S. Pastor is the CEO of Bioquark, a life sciences company, developing proprietary combinatorial biologics for the regeneration and repair of human organs and tissues. Ira has over 30 years of pharmaceutical experience. He serves as a board member at multiple companies and organizations including RengerAge, the Reanima Project, The World Academy of Medical Science and the World Economic Forum’s Human Enhancement. This Episode We Discuss… Regeneration and repair of human organs and tissues Nat...
Aug 17, 2018•29 min•Ep. 88
A panel of four incoming genetic counseling graduate schools discuss the application process. This is part one of two podcasts, discussing how to gather the experience and classes to have a competitive application. Early next year (2019) we will also release a follow up episode focusing on the second part of the application process: interviews, ranking and matching. We also surveyed over 50 incoming genetic counseling students (enrolling Fall 2018) who went through the last application process, ...
Aug 03, 2018•32 min•Ep. 87
Dr. Michael Fossel is the world’s foremost expert on the clinical use of telomerase for age-related diseases. In 1996, he wrote the first book on the telomerase theory of aging, Reversing Human Aging, and has published the sole medical textbook on the topic. Most recently he published The Telomerase Revolution which was named one of the five best science books of the year by the Wall Street Journal. Dr. Fossel earned his PhD and MD from Stanford University, where he taught neurobiology and resea...
Jul 20, 2018•30 min•Ep. 86
Sarah McAnulty is a squid biologist and science communicator. She founded Skype A Scientist , matching classrooms with scientists for QnA sessions. Sarah is also a Ph.D. Candidate and Scientist at the University of Connecticut. She studies squids and their symbiosis with bioluminescent bacteria. On This Episode We Discuss: Skype A Scientist Effect ways to communicate science Differences between squid species, which ones Sarah works with Squid research goals The symbiosis relationship between the...
Jul 06, 2018•27 min•Ep. 85
In this podcast discussion we peek into the world projected by J.D. Lasica in his new genetics thriller novel, Biohack. We consider and debate a few ethical issues that arise in the book focusing on the potential implications CRISPR has for our future. J. D. Lasica is an author, Silicon Valley entrepreneur and public speaker. He spoke at the United Nations in 2012 about how to use social media to combat global poverty, and he has given talks on four continents. His new book Biohack is a high-tec...
Jun 15, 2018•34 min•Ep. 84
Alexander Ille, the Director of the Genome Cure Organization, joins me on this podcast episode. He received a Bachelors of Science from University of Waterloo and is currently a graduate student at D'Youville College, actively participating in genetic research. He also wrote a book, “ The Genome Cure: The Future of Medicine for Alzheimer's, Cancer, Diabetes and more ”. Alex founded the Genome Cure Organization in 2016 and is enthusiastic about genomic research and its medical implications. This ...
Jun 01, 2018•19 min
A panel of guest from Smith Family Clinic for Genomic Medicine in Huntsville, Alabama joins me for this episode exploring the power of whole genome sequencing for patients with undiagnosed diseases. On This Episode We Discuss: Whole genome sequencing (WGS) vs exome sequencing Qualifications for patient to receive WGS Next steps after a “negative WGS” Value of WGS for patients not seeking a diagnosis Hero fund to help families afford testing Predictions of the future use of WGS Genetic counselors...
May 18, 2018•31 min•Ep. 82
Irina Brooke joins me for this podcast episode. She is an patient advocate with the mission of supporting people with BRCA mutations and educating the public on this testing and how it can empower healthcare decisions. On This Episode We Discuss… Deciding to pursue genetic testing and results Qualifications for having a strong family history of ovarian, breast and/or prostate cancer The risk of passing on a BRCA mutation to a child Males inheriting gene mutations Genetic counseling process and e...
May 04, 2018•25 min•Ep. 81
Rafi Mendelsohn is the Director of Public Relations and Social Media at MyHeritage . MyHeritage is the largest family history and DNA company that helps consumers to discover their ethnic origins and find new relatives. Their new pro bono initiative, DNA Quest , is currently helping adoptees and their birth families reunite through genetic testing, which we explore in this podcast episode. This offer is only available through the end of April 2018! Apply today for one of 15,000 free DNA kits. Le...
Apr 20, 2018•25 min•Ep. 80
Joining me on this episode is Bibaswan Ghoshal. He is a Senior Bioinformatician at the Lunenfeld Tanenbaum Research Institute of Mount Sinai Health System in Toronto. He has his Master’s of Science in Medicine and finishing his PhD in Bioinformatics, Animal Microbiome and Agriculture from the University of Alberta. On this episode we discuss… The number of microbes in inside us and how they help us Factors/technology that impacted the start of this new field Differences between studying the huma...
Apr 06, 2018•30 min•Ep. 79
My guest joining me for this podcast episode is Dr. Pawel Buczkowicz . He is the Chief Medical Affairs Officer and the VP of Business Development at Gene42 . He received his PhD in cancer genetics and molecular pathology from the University of Toronto. His research has been published in leading medical journals such as Nature Genetics. His discovery of novel mutations in human cancers and their associated clinical correlates, have led to a new World Health Organization classification that was im...
Mar 16, 2018•30 min•Ep. 78
February 28th, 2018 was Rare Disease Day! Rare Disease Day is an opportunity to raise awareness for 7,000+ rare diseases and the 30 million Americans who are affected by a rare disease(s). There were events held worldwide to raise awareness. The theme for this year's Rare Disease Day is "Research" and the important role that patients play in gaining an understanding of rare diseases and developing innovative treatments or cures. This year's slogan is "Patients are not only subjects but also proa...
Mar 02, 2018•25 min•Ep. 77
To raise awareness for February Heart Month, I am joined by Amy Sturm, a cardiovascular genetic counselor. She has 15 years of experience in cardiovascular genetics, personalized genomics, research, and education. Amy is the Director of Cardiovascular Genomic Counseling and Professor at Geisinger Health System's Genomic Medicine Institute . There she provides leadership for the scaling up of genomic counseling efforts in the MyCode Community Health Initiative . She serves as the President-elect ...
Feb 16, 2018•30 min•Ep. 76
We are kicking off Rare Disease Month, which leads up to Rare Disease Day (February 28th, 2018). My guest is Eden Lord, Co-Founder and CEO of My City Med . The company is an online health and medical resource site that allows patients to search for a doctor and read reviews, and also connect with non-profit resources and online community support groups. On the show, Eden explains how both patients and physicians can benefit from My City Med’s services and resources. She also provides insight int...
Feb 02, 2018•25 min•Ep. 75
After having a family history of Huntington's Disease, Antonio Maltese was pre-symptomatically genetically diagnosed with the disease himself. This diagnosis has motivated Antonio to become a fierce patient advocate with big plans to change the future of people with Huntington’s disease. Huntington’s Disease is progressive brain disorder that causes uncontrolled movements, emotional problems, and loss of thinking ability. This neurodegenerative disease is caused by an excess of CAG repeats in th...
Jan 19, 2018•27 min•Ep. 74
Jenna Guiltinan is a laboratory genetic counselor. She received her Master’s in Genetic Counseling from California State University Stanislaus in 2013. Jenna worked at Ambry Genetics as a reporting genetic counselor for over four years. However, she recently left her position at Ambry to pursue a new laboratory position. As a laboratory genetic counselor, she helps interpret and report genetic test results. In this episode we discuss a subfield of genetic counseling, working in the laboratory. J...
Jan 05, 2018•28 min•Ep. 73
Megan Maxwell explains her role as a research genetic counselor. She has experience in clinical, laboratory, sales, educational, and research settings. She is currently a Genetic Counselor Project Manager for The MilSeq Project at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX. This research is conducted under the Genomes2People (G2P) Research Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital , Harvard Medical School , which is focused on the medical, behavioral, and economic implications of translational gen...
Dec 15, 2017•29 min•Ep. 72
