Faculty, Students & Alumni

Faculty and Staff

Kathleen Berentsen Swenson, MS, MPH, CGC
Program Director, Genetic Counseling Program
Assistant Professor, Medical Sciences & Education
Licensed Genetic Counselor

Kathleen received a BS in Natural Science and Psychology from Muhlenberg College, an MS in Human Genetics from Sarah Lawrence College, and an MPH from Columbia University focusing on Population and Family Health. Kathleen’s contributions to the genetic counseling profession range from clinical care across many specialties (prenatal, pediatrics, neurology and cancer); advocacy work at the national level with the Children’s Tumor Foundation and at the community level with the Dominican Women’s Development Center; public health work with the New York State Department of Health; research across multiple spheres; faculty work at the Sarah Lawrence Genetic Counseling Program; and most recently in industry as a Medical Affairs Genetic Counselor at the former Counsyl, Inc. Kathleen became involved in the Boston University training program in 2010 as a lecturer and has since been an active capstone advisor. She is also an active member of the National Society of Genetic Counselors, New England Regional Genetics Group, American College of Medical Genetics and the Association of Genetic Counseling Program Directors. She has participated on committees for the American Board of Genetic Counseling, Leadership and Management Special Interest Group of NSGC, and the Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling. Kathleen is passionate about teaching the next generation of genetic counselors and was recognized as the 2018-19 Graduate Medical Sciences Educator of the Year. Her scholarship interests include the use of standard patients in genetic counseling education, inter-professional education and improving access to genetic counseling through the use of technology.

Jodi Hoffman, MD

Medical Director, Genetic Counseling Program
Section Chief for Genetics, Dept. of Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine

Dr. Hoffman received her medical degree at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, completed a Pediatric residency at Yale Children’s Hospital in New Haven, and completed Medical Genetics training at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where she developed special interests in Jewish genetic diseases, hereditary cancer syndromes, connective tissue disorders and the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. Dr. Hoffman joined the faculty at Boston Medical Center/Boston University in 2015. She is the Section Chief for Genetics in the Division of Pediatrics where she practices as a general medical geneticist and provides counseling and diagnosis regarding prenatal care, neonates, children and adults with genetic conditions. She serves as the medical director for the BU Master’s Program in Genetic Counseling where she enjoys teaching in the classroom and mentoring in the clinic. Prior to joining the Department of Pediatrics at BMC, Dr. Hoffman was Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Tufts University School of Medical, where she served as Program Director for the Medical Genetics residency. She also practiced medical genetics at Tufts Medical Center and was Director of the Victor Outreach and Screening Program for Ashkenazi Jewish Genetic Diseases in Boston for 10 years. Dr. Hoffman speaks throughout the Jewish community on the topic of genetic diseases seen more commonly in people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent and serves on the Scientific Advisory Council for the National Tay-Sachs and Allied Diseases Association. Dr. Hoffman is an active member of American Board of Medical Genetics, was past president of the ACMG Social Ethical and Legal Issues Committee and currently serves on the Program Committee. Locally, Dr. Hoffman is member of the BUMG Work Life Harmony Committee and devotes time to genetic test utilization optimization at BMC.

Lillian Sosa, MS, CGC

Lillian Sosa, MS, CGC
Assistant Program Director
Assistant Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology
Licensed Genetic Counselor

Lillian received a BA in chemistry with a biochemistry concentration from Skidmore College. Prior to pursuing genetic counseling, Lillian worked as a research technician and lab manager in an epigenetics laboratory at MIT. She received her MS in Genetic Counseling from Boston University School of Medicine. Before joining the Boston University team, Lillian worked as the senior genetic counselor at Maimonides Cancer Center and the program coordinator for the Division of Pediatric Genetics at Maimonides Infants & Children’s Hospital in Brooklyn, NY. At Maimonides, Lillian served on the multidisciplinary cleft lip and palate team and was actively involved in the pediatric residency genetics core curricula. At Boston Medical Center, Lillian is a clinical counselor in the Antenatal Testing Unit, providing counseling in a prenatal setting. In addition Lillian oversees fieldwork coordination and initiatives in clinical education for the BU Genetic Counseling Program. Lillian is an active member of the Association of Genetic Counseling Program Directors, National Society of Genetic Counselors and American College of Medical Genetics.

Phil Connors, MS, MPH, CGC

Assistant Director, Admissions and Recruitment
Assistant Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology
Licensed Genetic Counselor

Phil received a BS in Biochemistry from Northeastern University and an MS in Genetic Counseling from Boston University School of Medicine. Prior to joining the BUGC team in 2015, Phil worked in the Cancer Genetics and Prevention Program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. In this role, he counseled patients for a variety of oncologic diagnoses and gained expertise in next-generation sequencing technology and the implications of gene panel testing. Phil’s clinical and research interests include the intersection between genetics, public health and public policy, maternal and child health, and ethical considerations in genetics and genetic counseling. At Boston Medical Center, Phil is a clinical genetic counselor in the Antenatal Testing Unit, providing prenatal genetic counseling services to patients and their families. Phil is an active member of the National Society of Genetic Counseling as Chair of the Cultural Competency Subcommittee. He recently obtained his MPH degree in Health Policy & Law at Boston University.

Claire Hacking, MS, MPH, CGC
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine
Licensed Genetic Counselor

Claire received a BS in Genetic Biology from Purdue University, an MPH from the University of Utah and an MS in Genetic Counseling from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. While completing her MPH Claire had the opportunity to participate in a global health study abroad in Ghana working on health promotion research and worked as a graduate assistant at the Huntsman Cancer Institute conducting research on the long term care of pediatric cancer survivors. Claire’s clinical interests include cancer genetics, public health, and increasing access to genetics services. At Boston Medical Center, Claire is a clinical genetic counselor in the Cancer Care Center.

Annie Nyberg, MS, CGC
Instructor, Department of Pediatrics
Licensed Genetic Counselor

Annie received a BS in Genetics with a minor in Psychology from the University of New Hampshire, and an MS in Medical and Molecular Genetics from the Indiana University Genetic Counseling Program. Annie has experience working with multiple specialty clinics, the Genetic Alliance and has been actively involved in a variety of research projects during her graduate training. At Boston Medical Center, Annie is a clinical genetic counselor in the Department of Pediatrics and Cancer Care Center, and is also involved in lab stewardship initiatives with the Department of Pathology.

Catharine Wang, PhD
Associate Professor, Community Health Sciences
School of Public Health

Dr. Wang obtained her doctorate in Health Behavior and Health Education from the University of Michigan and has expertise in survey research methods, intervention development, and program evaluation. Her research has spanned across several areas including public health genomics, health communication/e-health, health literacy, and cancer prevention and control. Dr. Wang currently serves as a member of the National Cancer Institute’s PDQ Cancer Genetics Editorial Board. Much of Dr. Wang’s work focuses on the effective translation of genomic discoveries into clinical and public health practice. She has been the Principal Investigator on several grants to examine how people understand and use complex risk information to make health decisions. Her work also examines how individuals adopt new health technologies, including genomics and molecular diagnostics, and examines barriers to the adoption and implementation of these technologies among underserved patient populations. With a grant from NHGRI, she is currently collaborating with clinicians and computer scientists at Boston Medical Center and Northeastern University to create a “virtual counselor” to ascertain family health history in efforts to overcome previously identified literacy-related barriers to using computerized tools and facilitate the use of family history a vehicle for precision medicine. Another NHGRI grant is examining the adoption of prenatal cell-free fetal DNA testing in diverse patient populations in efforts to identify and address potential inequities in use.

Nadine Channaoui, MS, CGC
Licensed Genetic Counselor

Nadine graduated with a BA in Psychology from Brandeis University and an MS in Genetic Counseling from Boston University School of Medicine. She has provided clinical genetic counseling services in the cancer and cardiovascular settings and currently works at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in their Cardiovascular Genetics Center. Within the National Society of Genetic Counselors, Nadine has held various volunteer and leadership positions, primarily centered around diversity inclusion efforts. As a former Fulbright U.S. Student Grant awardee and experienced yoga teacher, Nadine merges cultural and societal consideration, introspection, and wellness prioritization within her roles as a clinical genetic counselor, student supervisor, and course instructor.

Kira A. Dies, ScM, CGC
Licensed Genetic Counselor

Kira (Apse) Dies received a BA in Biology and Spanish from Bucknell University and a Master of Science degree (ScM) in Genetic Counseling 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 Co-Director of the Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs Service for the Translational Neuroscience Center at Boston Children’s Hospital. She coordinates clinical trials and provides genetic counseling for patients in the Neurology department. Since the graduate program’s inception, 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 capstone projects.

Meghan Towne, MS, LGC
Licensed Genetic Counselor

After obtaining her B.S. in biology with a minor in chemistry from Boston College, Meghan attended Boston University School of Medicine for her graduate studies in Genetic Counseling. Her studies piqued her interest in the impact of innovative technologies on diagnosing and connecting families with rare genetic disorders. Meghan worked for seven years at Boston Children’s Hospital developing the institutional infrastructure for gene discovery, enhancing research collaborations, and evaluating the utility of genomic sequencing in newborns. In 2016, Meghan joined Ambry Genetics as an exome reporting genetic counselor on the clinical genomics team. She maintains her research connections to the Boston community by serving as a voting member of the Massachusetts General Hospital IRB, and she is a lecturer and coordinator for research seminar series and capstone experience at the Boston University Genetic Counseling Program.

Grace VanNoy, MS,CGC
Licensed Genetic Counselor

Grace received a BS in Biology from Bates College where she also studied anthropology and public health. She then earned her MS in Genetic Counseling from the Boston University School of Medicine. Following her graduate studies, Grace pursued her interest in clinical research at Boston Children’s Hospital. At BCH she was involved in developing and co-managing research studies focused on rare pediatric diseases, genomic sequencing in newborns, and rapid whole exome sequencing for sick neonates. In her current role at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, she is the Project Manager for the Rare Genomes Project, which aims to expand access to genomic sequencing for individuals with rare, undiagnosed diseases.

Cecilia Esteves, MPH, CG(ASCP)^CM

Cecilia received a BS in Diagnostic Genetic Sciences from the University of Connecticut and an MPH in Healthcare Management from Columbia University. Cecilia spent the first 6 years of her career in cytogenetics and molecular diagnostic laboratories in New York City, initially as a clinical laboratory technologist and later as a laboratory coordinator and quality systems manager. Since 2015, she has been a Project Manager for the Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) Coordinating Center in the Department of Biomedical Informatics at Harvard Medical School. The UDN is a research study funded by the National Institutes of Health to improve and accelerate diagnosis of rare and undiagnosed conditions. Cecilia is actively involved in the University of Connecticut Diagnostic Genetic Sciences Program Advisory Board and the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay Mentor 2.0 Program.

Todd Kates, PhD
Dr. Kates has served as the Chief Executive Officer of United Cerebral Palsy of MetroBoston since 1997 having worked for UCP in a variety of roles since 1983. He served as the chairperson of Department of Developmental Services’s Human Rights Advisory Committee and as a Board Member for the Association of Developmental Disability Providers. For several years he volunteered with AIDS Action Committee running the first support group for family members of persons with AIDS. Dr. Kates is an adjunct faculty member at Northeastern University and Boston University School of Medicine in the Counseling Psychology Departments. He has been active on local boards of directors of 2 theater companies and volunteers with a summer hosting program for Russian orphans and works with Friends of Russian and Ukrainian Adoption. Dr. Kates is the course director for Fundamentals of Counseling in Genetics and has previously taught in the Mental Health Counseling and Behavioral Medicine Program.

Emily Dalton, MS, CGC
Licensed Genetic Counselor

Emily earned a BA 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 had both clinical and research responsibilities. She joined Ambry Genetics in 2013 as an Oncology Genetic Specialist, and is currently the Director of the Genetic Specialist team. She is a current member of the BU Program Advisory Board, and has also stayed involved with the BUGC Program through course coordination, guest lecturing, and student capstone involvement.

Nancy Ferrer-Tatkowska
Program Coordinator, Genetic Counseling Program

Nancy grew up in Bronx, NY and was the first in her family to complete college. She is a late-in-life graduate of Franklin Pierce University. Nancy joined the GMS staff in September 2018, providing administrative support to the Genetic Counseling, Medical Anthropology, and Clinical Research programs. She was formerly at the Charles River campus, where she played a critical role supporting the faculty and staff of Biomedical Engineering. In her spare time, Nancy is an avid reader, loves to travel, and enjoys crocheting hats and scarves for Hooking for the Homeless.

Class of 2021

Elizabeth Barrett

Elizabeth Barrett grew up in Massachusetts and graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2017 with a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a secondary major in English. In college, she was involved in research investigating the biochemical pathway of Alzheimer’s and cancer. She found genetic counseling after spending two years in the biotechnology industry and began volunteering at Beth Israel as a prenatal genetic counseling assistant and writing for the digital counseling company, My Gene Counsel. When she is not listening to genetics podcasts, she can be found hiking in the White Mountains in New Hampshire.

Simmons Borchert

Simmons grew up in sunny Los Angeles and attended Bates College in Maine where he received a degree in biochemistry. While at Bates he completed a thesis concerning the stability and kinetics of mRNA in B. burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme’s Disease. After college he brewed beer professionally for Angel City Brewery and The Bruery in Southern California. Although brewing beer was fun, he could not shake the itch to work in genetics so he moved to Boston to work in ocular genetics research at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. He has spent the last five years studying the genetic etiology of glaucoma and optic atrophy, specifically looking at the effects of knocking down genes of interest in zebrafish. When not occupied with genetics you can find Simmons cooking, eating, listening to classic rock, and watching Dodger baseball into the wee hours of the night.

Taylor Christiansen

Taylor grew up in Nashua, New Hampshire and graduated from Stonehill College in 2017 with a degree in Biology. Shortly after graduation, she moved to the Boston area, where she worked at Dana-Farber Cancer Center Institute as a chemotherapy prior authorization specialist, then at Brigham and Women’s Hospital as a Research Assistant in the Center for Patient Safety Research and Practice. During this time, Taylor volunteered in the Cancer Genetics and Prevention Program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. In her spare time, Taylor enjoys traveling, spending time with family and friends, hiking, skiing, and exploring new places in Boston.

Zoë Frazier

Zoë was born and raised in the Greater Boston area. She relocated to the Midwest to attend Kenyon College where she majored in Biology and minored in Anthropology. After graduation, she moved back to Boston to start a research position in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. While at DFCI, her research focused on identifying biomarkers within muscle-invasive bladder cancer to guide the use of targeted therapies. In her free time, Zoë loves traveling, trying new cuisines, collecting new plants, and spending time with her friends, family, and dog!

Emily Gaudet

Emily grew up in Sutton, Massachusetts and currently lives in Worcester, MA from which she will be commuting to BU! Emily attended Hamilton College where she majored in Neuroscience. Since graduating Emily has been a faculty member at a prep school in northeastern CT, teaching Chemistry and Neuroscience, been a dorm parent, and currently coaches cross country and outdoor track. One of Emily’s athletes is one of the fastest high school distance runners in the country, and she’ll be coaching her part time this fall. Emily was on the cross country and track teams in college and still consider running to be one of her major hobbies, along with obsessing over her cat, scrapbooking, and trying all the ethnic cuisines she can find!

Marissa Hollyer

Marissa grew up in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. She graduated this past May from Boston College with a degree in Biology. While at BC, Marissa was a board member and director of Boston College Splash, an educational program for students in 7th through 12th grade with courses taught by BC students. During her junior and senior years, Marissa was a research assistant at the van Opijnen laboratory at Boston College – her project utilized fluorescence microscopy to study Streptococcus pneumoniae, and this research contributed to her senior thesis. Marissa also worked as a counselor with the Crisis Text Line and volunteered as a Genetic Counseling Assistant for the Cancer Genetics and Prevention Program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. In her spare time, Marissa loves befriending dogs, exploring Boston, and making desserts.

Emma Li

Emma was born in China and grew up in sunny Los Angeles. She attended Mount Holyoke College and graduated with a degree in Biological Sciences. Her thesis focused on elucidating the relationship between hormone signaling, insulin signaling, and autophagy through the use of transmission electron microscopy on fruit fly larvae. After graduation, she worked within the MGHfC Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition Department’s IBD Center as a clinical research coordinator, while observing and assisting Dr. Angela Lin’s Turner Syndrome Clinic, monthly. Emma enjoys spending her free time volunteering with the Crisis Text Line, perusing mystery novels at the Brookline Booksmith, kayaking on the Charles River, cooking random recipes, and trying new coffee shops around Boston.

Rachel Mahoney

Rachel is from Byfield, Massachusetts and graduated with distinction in 2019 from the University of Colorado Boulder, with a degree in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. At CU, she volunteered for the Counseling and Psychiatric Services on campus, interned for a Genetic Counselor at Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers, and gained valuable experience as a Personal Care Assistant. Her undergraduate research project involved using micro-RNA therapy in mice to alter gene expression in the brain and reduce voluntary nicotine consumption. She was also a proud member of CU’s marching band and basketball band (sko buffs!), playing piccolo and trombone. Rachel’s self-care routines involve training for half marathons, portrait and nature photography, music, and anything that involves being outside.

Amy Patterson

Originally from Glen Ridge, New Jersey Amy graduated from Bucknell University with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience. While in school, she studied Hox gene mutations and neuronal development, worked as an EMT, and camped a ton. Since graduation, Amy has worked at Boston Children’s Hospital as a research assistant/lab manager, studying gene therapy techniques for hearing loss disorders. During this time, she found a passion for rare disease advocacy, and currently volunteer for the Rare Action Network of MA to spread awareness of rare diseases and challenges facing the rare community. Due to the overlap of rare advocacy and public health, Amy also worked toward a graduate certificate in public health from BU, and hopes to continue studying this intersection throughout her genetic counseling career. In her spare time, Amy loves to hang out with her mentee, Tom, through Partners for Youth with Disabilities; together we often discuss genetics news, experiment in baking, and participate in advocacy events. Amy also tries to get in as much camping, sailing, and live music as humanly possible.

Shelby Redfield

Shelby grew up in New Hampshire and graduated from Middlebury College in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry and a minor in French. While working in an immunology lab in Paris her junior year, she developed a strong interest in research and genetics. After graduating, Shelby was part of the Stem Cell Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, studying the genetic regulation of blood stem cells using zebrafish as a model organism. She then became part of a biotechnology startup in Kendall Square, working to develop cellular and immunotherapies for cancer patients.
Shelby is a passionate volunteer at the Samaritans Crisis Helpline and loves travelling, reading, and rock climbing in her free time.

Cindy Tang

Originally from Taiwan, Cindy moved to San Diego to attend the University of California San Diego in 2011. She graduated from UCSD in 2015 with a double major in General Biology and Psychology. After graduating, Cindy worked as a medical assistant at an IVF clinic in Ximed Medical Group and later on as a Surrogacy Coordinator at a Third Party Reproduction Agency in Carlsbad, California. Her exposure to IVF patients, Surrogates, Egg donors, and Intending families has led her on a path to genetic counseling. In her free time, she enjoys practicing yoga, going to the beach, reading, traveling, skiing, diving, spending time with friends, and anything food-related!