GC Burnout and Use of Genetic Counseling Assistants to Turn that Frown Upside Down

Carolyn Applegate is the genetic counseling manager in the Department of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins University.  Carolyn manages an amazing team of 8 genetic counselors and one genetic assistant and sees patients in both the inpatient and outpatient general genetics and specialty clinics.  In 2019, along with her genetic assistant colleague, Jen Cedeno, and the Office for Online Education, Carolyn created the first online education program for genetic counseling assistants, which she will discuss today.  She currently has the pleasure to serve on NSGC’s Board of Directors as a Director at Large and serves as the Co-Chair of the Public Policy committee of the Maryland and DC Society of Genetic Counselors.

Shabnam Asgari joined Ambry in 2019 as the Oncology Genomic Science Liaison for the New York Metro Area territory. She previously worked as a clinical genetic counselor at the High-Risk Cancer Genetics Program at the Perlmutter Cancer Center in New York. In her current role, she serves as a clinical liaison for the field team to educate health care providers and key opinion leaders on genetic testing and genomic medicine. She is also a program coordinator and student supervisor for Ambry’s Genomic Science Liaison industry rotation. Shabnam received her Bachelors of Science degree in Biology with a minor in psychology from the University of Colorado, Denver. She earned her Masters of Science degree in Genetic Counseling from the Joan H. Marks Graduate Program in Human Genetics at Sarah Lawrence College and is certified by the American Board of Genetic Counseling.