Faculty and Staff
The primary faculty for the Genetic Counseling Program consists of genetic professionals within Boston University Medical Center:
MaryAnn W. Campion, M.S., C.G.C.
Program Director, Genetic Counseling Program
Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Licensed Genetic Counselor
MaryAnn received a B.S. in Psychology from Furman University and an M.S. in Genetic Counseling from the University of South Carolina. Prior to coming to Boston Medical Center, she worked as a prenatal genetic counselor with the Greenwood Genetic Center in South Carolina. MaryAnn serves as a prenatal genetic counselor at Boston Medical Center. She is an advisor to GoodStart Genetics and was a member of the Framingham Heart Study’s Ethics Advisory Board. She has also served on several committees, tasks forces, and working groups for the National Society of Genetic Counselors, the American Board of Genetic Counseling, and the Genetic Alliance.
Maureen Flynn, M.S., C.G.C., M.P.H.
Associate Director, Genetic Counseling Program
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Licensed Genetic Counselor
Originally from Chicago, Maureen received a B.S. in Cell & Structural Biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She received her M.S. in Medical Genetics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She subsequently moved to Boston in 2002 to begin her role at the Boston University School of Medicine. Maureen’s primary clinical interests include cancer genetic counseling, hereditary cancer syndromes, health disparities, and pediatrics. She received her M.P.H. with a concentration in Health Law from Boston University in 2007. She is a member of the BU School of Public Health Alumni Board and has served on multiple subcommittees and working groups of the National Society of Genetic Counselors. Maureen is a member of Boston Medical Center’s Cancer Care Committee.
Katherine E. Krepkovich, M.S., M.S., C.G.C.
Licensed Genetic Counselor
Clinical Instructor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Katie received a B.A. in Biology and an M.S. in Biology (with a concentration in Cell and Molecular Biology) from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She attended the Genetic Counseling Program at the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio and received an M.S. in Medical Genetics in June 2006. Katie serves as a prenatal genetic counselor at Boston Medical Center. In addition, she works with the Birth Defects Monitoring Program Advisory Committee at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Katie is also involved with the National Society of Genetic Counselors and is currently a member of the Abstract workgroup.
Lauren Lichten, M.S., C.G.C.
Clinical Genetic Counselor
Lauren received a B.A. in molecular biology from Colgate University and subsequently attended the Genetic Counseling Program at Brandeis University. Prior to joining the team at BUMC, Lauren worked as a clinical genetic counselor in maternal fetal medicine and general genetics. During that time she also taught guest lectures, mentored student research projects, and served as a clinical supervisor for the genetic counseling programs at BU and Brandeis University. Besides education, her professional interests include helping underserved populations, ethics, professional issues, and counseling psychology. She has been a member of the Boston-Area Genetic Counseling Supervision Group since 2006. Lauren currently works in the Pediatric Genetics clinic at BUMC. She is also involved with addressing issues of faculty flexibility and mid-career faculty development at BUMC through her work with the office of Faculty Development and Diversity in the Department of Medicine.
Diana M. Toledo, M.S., C.G.C.
Licensed Genetic Counselor
Diana is originally from Miami, Florida. She transplanted to New England and received her B.A. in Biology from Brown University. After working as a healthcare/biotech consultant for one year, she decided to pursue a degree in genetic counseling. She attended the Genetic Counseling Program at Boston University and received her M.S. in June 2011. After graduation, Diana joined the group at Boston University and is now working with the Harvard-affiliated Laboratory for Molecular Medicine (LMM), a molecular diagnostic laboratory operating within the Partners Healthcare Center for Personalized Genetic Medicine (PCPGM).
Audrey C. Woerner, M.D., M.P.H.
Clinical Medical Genetics Faculty
Dr. Woerner received a BA in Speech-Language-Hearing from the University of Kansas and an MPH from the University of Texas Houston School of Public Health and an MD from the University of Texas Houston Medical School. She completed a 5 year combined Pediatrics/Medical Genetics Residency program at the University of Texas Houston and began working as a Clinical Geneticist at Boston Children’s Hospital with a faculty appointment at Harvard Medical School in 2011. She is board certified in Clinical Genetics. She is the faculty advisor for the Medical Geneticist Student Interest Group at Harvard Medical School, is currently piloting a TeleGenetics program through Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr. Woerner provides outpatient and inpatient Clinical Medical Genetics services in the Department of Pediatrics at BUMC.
Raveen K. Basran, DPhil.
Director, Molecular Genetics Laboratory
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Dr. Basran received her Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree from the University of Toronto in Human Biology. After completion of her undergraduate degree she went over the pond to England to complete her Masters and Doctorate degrees at the University of Oxford. Dr. Basran’s graduate work focused on hemoglobin disorders within Southeast Asia, an interest she continued through her postdoctoral work. Recently, Dr. Basran completed an ABMG-accredited fellowship in Clinical Molecular Genetics within the Center for Human Genetics.
Thomas A. Maher, M.S.
Manager, Molecular Genetics Laboratory
Instructor, Department Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Tom earned his B.S. from the University of Massachusetts at Boston and went on to earn a M.S. in the Cell and Molecular biology program at Boston University. He was the Director of Forensics and laboratory manager at the Center for Human Genetics at BUMC for 25+ years. Recently, Tom has moved to the Pathology department to setup molecular genetic testing at BMC. He is involved in the genetic counseling program, teaching students and training pathology residents in molecular genetics.
Beverly Hay, M.D.
Interim Medical Director
Dr. Hay graduated from UC Santa Barbara with the intent to become a genetic counselor, but was waylaid by science. After 6 years of molecular genetics in a lab, she went to medical school at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. She completed her Pediatrics Residency in Rochester (NY) prior to doing a fellowship in Genetics at the NIH, where she studied immunogenetics (still her favorite subject) and gene therapy. Despite her years & interest in research, she came to find clinical genetics more compelling and moved to UMass in 2003. Currently she is most involved in clinical genetics (for children and adults), teaching students and residents, and maintaining a healthy interest in many different subjects.
Kira A. Dies, ScM, C.G.C.
Licensed Genetic Counselor
Kira Dies received a B.A. in Biology and Spanish from Bucknell University in 1998 and a Master of Science degree (Sc.M.) in Genetic Counseling in 2003 from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is board certified by the American Board of Genetic Counseling and a licensed genetic counselor in Massachusetts. Her experience includes establishing a new clinic, the Comprehensive Brain Malformation Program, at Children’s Hospital Boston and coordinating research on the genetics of brain malformations and cognitive disorders. She then served as the Director of the Family Research Network for the non-profit Autism Consortium and coordinated multi-site research and family programs. Kira is currently the Program Manager for the Tuberous Sclerosis Program at Children’s Hospital Boston. She coordinates clinical trials for Tuberous Sclerosis and provides genetic counseling for patients in the Neurology department. For the past six years, she has also been a coordinator of the Research Seminar Series for the BUSM Genetic Counseling graduate program and aids in the development of student thesis projects.
Shannon K. Barrett, M.S., C.G.C.
Medical Science Liaison
Shannon received a B.S. in Biology at the University of Iowa and an M.S. in Human Genetics from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York in 1995. Shannon was the Senior Genetic Counselor and Division Coordinator in the Department of Pediatrics at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York and holds an academic appointment of Clinical Instructor of Pediatrics at State University of New York Health Sciences Center at Brooklyn. In 2005, Shannon joined Genzyme as a Patient Care Liaison. In 2007, she relocated to the Boston area and now works as a Medical Science Liaison in the Personalized Genetic Health division at Genzyme-A SANOFI Company. Her primary responsibility is the academic development of Health Care Providers in Southern New England in the management of Lysosomal Storage Diseases. She also serves as the Encounter Group facilitator for the 2nd-year genetic counseling students at BU.
Allison L. Cirino, M.S., C.G.C
Licensed Genetic Counselor
Allison received her B.S in Biology with a minor in Psychology from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. She received an MS in Genetic Counseling from the Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling at Northwestern University. Since 2004, Allison has served as the clinical genetic counselor and research coordinator for the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Cardiovascular Genetics Center. Additional responsibilities include her role as a co-coordinator of the BUSM Genetic Counseling graduate program Research Seminar Series and a member of Partners IRB.
Emily Brown, M.S., C.G.C.
Licensed Genetic Counselor
Emily earned a B.A. in Cell and Molecular Biology from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. She then attended the Boston University School of Medicine Genetic Counseling program, where she earned her Master’s in Genetic Counseling. Soon after graduating, Emily started her position as a cancer genetic counselor at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA, where she has both clinical and research responsibilities. She has also taken an active interest in teaching at BU through guest lectures, supervising genetic counseling students, and coordinating the Social, Cultural, and Ethical Issues in Genetics course.
Katherine Schneider, M.P.H., C.G.C.
Licensed Genetic Counselor
Kathy is a Senior Genetic Counselor at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and she has over 20 years genetic counseling experience. Her primary responsibilities are to provide genetic counseling services to individuals and families at risk for inherited forms of cancer. Ms. Schneider has served as President of the National Society of Genetic Counselors and Co-Director of the New England Regional Genetics Group. She has also served on two National Task Forces regarding genetic testing. She recently completed the third edition of her textbook: Counseling about Cancer: Strategies for Genetic Counseling (Wiley & Sons pub.)
