Arcadia University Bulletin

Arcadia University students and alumni took top awards and were strongly represented at the annual national meeting of the National Society of Genetic Counselors. The meeting was chaired by one of Arcadia’s alums Shannan DeLany Dixon ’98M, who is currently director of the genetic counseling program at the University of Maryland. Dixon also received this year’s Outstanding Volunteer Award from the NSGC.

“I am pleased to say that Arcadia had a very strong presence this year at the annual national meeting of the National Society of Genetic Counselors,” says Dr. Laura Conway, Academic Coordinator of Research Education in the Genetic Counseling master’s program. “Seven thesis projects were chosen for poster presentations, out of 130 posters total. They represented the thesis research of Priyanka Ahimaz, Courtney Forgeng, Becky Grey, Justin Leighton, Erin Sutcliffe, McKenzie Wells, and Kristin Zelley. One of these, McKenzie’s, was selected as one of the five finalists for the Best Poster Award. Two additional student thesis projects, from Kim Rainey and Lauren Seyer, were chosen as contributed papers which are presented as 15-minute talks. At least eight other alumni presented posters, contributed papers, and educational breakout sessions.”

• Priyanka Ahimaz: Assessment of attitudes toward genetic counseling for family members of patients with Parkinson Disease.
• Courtney Forgeng: Assessing the knowledge and attitudes of genetic counseling students on pharmacogenomics.
• Becky Grey: Genetic counselors’ utilization of CHEK2 testing.
• Justin Leighton: The general public’s understanding and perception of Direct-to-Consumer genetic test results.
• Kim Rainey: The experiences of individuals who receive true negative results from BRCA testing: A qualitative pilot study.
• Lauren Seyer: The development of a doctoral degree in genetic counseling: An investigation of current opinions and future considerations.
• Erin Sutcliffe: Attitudes toward and perceptions of genetic testing for Familial Defective Apolipoprotein B-100 within the Amish community.
• McKenzie Wells: Assessing factors involved in genetic counselors’ support of predictive genetic testing in minors.
• Kristin Zelley: Identifying the unmet needs of women with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia.