This is the fourth installment in our series, “Trailblazing Genetic Counselors”, in which we highlight genetic counselors who are pioneers in the field. Genetic counselors are health professionals with specialized graduate degrees and experience in the areas of medical genetics and counseling. Genetic counseling is a rapidly growing field offering professionals a wide range of opportunities, which we explore in this series. Learn more on the National Society of Genetic Counselors’ new website, aboutgeneticcounselors.com.
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LinkedIn Profile
Amy Curry Sturm, MS, LGC, @AmyCurrySturm, is a Genetic Counselor and Associate Professor at Ohio State.
Sturm has spent over a decade with Ohio State becoming an expert in personalized genomics, cancer genetics, pediatrics, preconception genetic counseling and especially cardiovascular genetics, as she is currently the NSGC Cardiovascular Genetics Expert and co-founded the Cardiovascular Genetics Special Interest Group. A combination of her experience gained and patients’ impact from Ohio State Wexner Medical Center’s Cardiovascular Genetic and Genomic Medicine Program have driven her to volunteering with The FH Foundation (familial hypercholesterolemia) and SADS Foundation (sudden arrhythmia death syndromes) where she focuses on advocacy work, research, and medical education programs.
Her passion is preventive genetic and genomic medicine, and research evaluating the effectiveness of different genetic counseling approaches. She has also served as a Director-At-Large for NSGC along with many other committees, which earned her the 2011 NSGC Outstanding Volunteer Award. Other honors and awards include Columbus Business First’s Forty Under 40, The Heart Hope Foundation Award, and the Diane Baker Alumni Award. Her list of publications includes articles in the Journal of Medical Genetics, Community Genetics, Journal of Genetic Counseling, Pharmacogenomics and New England Journal of Medicine.
She graduated from Baldwin-Wallace College with a B.S. in biology, followed by The Ohio State University and University of Michigan with a M.S in Molecular Pathology and Human/Medical Genetics, respectively.
L inkedIn Profile
Carrie Blout, MS, LGC, @CarrieBlout, is a Senior Genetic Counselor and Project Manager at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the Genomes2People translational research group.
In these roles, she manages the MedSeq Project, a randomized control trial exploring the outcomes of whole genome sequencing in both a healthy population and a population with cardiomyopathy.
Before joining Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Blout worked at Johns Hopkins University in the Greenberg Center for Skeletal Dysplasias and the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine. She provided genetic counseling for both pediatric and adult patients and their families through the Multidisciplinary Cleft Clinic. Her other role at Johns Hopkins was as a study coordinator for enrolling patients with Down syndrome and Achondroplasia in clinical drug trials. She also had a general/pediatric genetic counseling position at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, followed by a pediatric and newborn screening role at the University of Maryland Medical Center & Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Blout has served on numerous committees in the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) including as the Chair of the Public Policy Committee, Webinar Subcommittee, and Pediatric and Clinical Genetics SIG and served on the Board of Directors as a Director-At-Large. She graduated from Dickinson College and the University of Pittsburgh with a B.S. degree in biology and a genetic counseling M.S. degree, respectively.
NSGC
Leslie Bucheit, MS, CGC, @gcleslieb, is a medical science liaison in the field of oncology at Counsyl.
Bucheit is passionate about increasing the accessibility of genetic screening to oncology providers. She contributes to efforts related to Inherited Cancer Screening products as part of the Counsyl team. Previous to her role at Counsyl, she served as a genetic counselor at Baptist Health System where she provided clinical services for hereditary cancer syndromes. During her time, she initiated several program and career development initiatives including the development and coordination of high risk and VUS (variants of uncertain significance) follow-up programs. As an Oncology Genetic Specialist at Ambry Genetics, Bucheit worked collaboratively with account managers to support clients. There she was also a clinical resource to clients implementing hereditary cancer genetic testing. After working for Ambry Genetics, she returned to Baptist Health System’s as a Manager of Genetic Counseling.
She is an energetic volunteer leader in the genetics, genetic counseling and oncology communities. On the state level she is the social media manager of the Texas Society of Genetic Counselors; which is active in pursuit of licensure for genetic counselors in Texas. On the national level, she has worked for NSGC as a member, co-chair, and chair of various boards including the membership committee, AEC Orientation, Professional Status Survey, Cultural Competency Subcommittee, and the Education committee. Bucheit also was the founding chair of the SIG Engagement Subcommittee. She received the honor of the NSGC New Leader Award in 2015.
Bucheit graduated from University of Dayton and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine with a B.S. degree in psychology and a medical genetics M.S. degree, respectively.
Check back for the next episode of “Trailblazing Genetic Counselors” and read our previous episodes here! Have a colleague that should be highlighted in our series, tweet us at @mygenecounsel!
Trailblazing Genetic Counselors: Episode 4
