Examining the Impact of Pediatric Cancer Predisposition for Adults

Adrienne Wakeling is a cancer genetic counselor at UCSF where she sees adults and children who are at risk for hereditary cancer predisposition.  She has a special interest in working with families affected by childhood cancer, gastrointestinal cancers, familial polyposis syndromes, and hematologic conditions.

Adrienne earned her bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Delaware in 2011 and her master’s degree in Human Genetics and Genetic Counseling at Stanford University in 2013.  Prior to joining UCSF in 2019, she established genetic counseling services within the pediatric heme/onc division at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, becoming the first GC at Stanford dedicated to providing genetic counseling to children, teens, and families affected by childhood cancer and blood disorders.

Nicola Cadenas has been a board certified genetic counselor at UCSF since 2002 and sees families who have a suspected or known hereditary cancer predisposition. Starting in 2002 she primarily saw patients with breast and ovarian cancer, melanoma, and hereditary endocrine syndromes. She started a genetic counseling same day consult service to see urgent patients needing to make medical decisions. In 2010 a Rare Syndromes Clinic was started to see patients with more complex medical histories, including many with pediatric cancer syndromes.  This program was expanded into a multi-disciplinary Hereditary Cancer Clinic that follows children long term with Li Fraumeni Syndrome, Retinoblastoma, Von Hipple Lindau, and others.  

Throughout her career she had taught genetic counseling students, nursing and medical school students, and supervised students in their clinical rotations.

When she is not at work, she is usually searching for chocolate or biking around the San Francisco Bay with her children.  She was previously a killer whale trainer and as a child, dreamed of being a marine biologist.

Lindsay Lipe is an Oncology Genomic Science Liaison at Ambry Genetics for the Bluegrass Region. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Zoology at Michigan State University and her Master of Science in Genetic Counseling at Wayne State University. She worked as a clinical genetic counselor at the West Cancer Center in Memphis, TN prior to starting at Ambry. 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. Lindsay is a member of the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) and is licensed as a genetic counselor by the TN Department of Health. She is board-certified by the American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC).