A Guide to Genetic Counseling

Vivian Y. Pan, MS, CGC is a practicing genetic counselor with a background spanning cancer genetics, prenatal genetics, pediatric genetics, cardiovascular genetics, and general adult genetics. Vivian has led telehealth and precision medicine initiatives across various healthcare settings for over ten years, focusing on equitable patient access to genomic medicine. Actively engaged in the genetic counseling community, Vivian holds leadership positions within the National Society for Genetic Counselors and the American Board of Genetic Counseling. Her research focuses on innovations in genetic counseling. Jane L. Schuette, MS, CGC served as a genetic counselor and clinical coordinator for 35 years, initially at Mount Sinai Medical Center and then at the University of Michigan Health System where, in addition to working with patients and their families, she participated in the training of numerous genetic counseling students, interns, and residents. She served on the Genetics Advisory Committee for the Michigan Department of Health for 10 years and was chair of the NSGC Pediatric Special Interest Group. Presently Jane is a clinical genomics variant science team lead at Variantyx, Inc., focusing on whole genome sequencing for the pediatric and prenatal populations. Karen E. Wain, MS, CGC has worked in several clinically oriented settings and in a variety of roles, including as a laboratory genetic counselor, a clinical genetic counselor, a researcher, and a leader. She has been an active contributor to the National Society of Genetic Counselors, early genomic data-sharing efforts, and education around variant interpretation. Beverly M. Yashar, MS, PhD, CGC served as the program director for the genetic counseling graduate training program at the University of Michigan from 2002-2023. Her contributions to education have been recognized by the Michigan academic community with the conferral of the Rackham Master's Mentoring award, the Kaiser Permanente award for academic excellence in medical school teaching, and nomination to Michigan's League of Education Excellence. In addition, she has held leadership roles within the National Society of Genetic Counselors, American Board of Genetic Counseling, Genetic Counseling Education Association and the Michigan Association of Genetic Counselors.