Students: Class of 2019

Morgan Danowski

Morgan is originally from Connecticut, but has lived in Boston for the past five years while completing her undergraduate degree at Northeastern University. She studied abroad in Florence, Italy before receiving a B.S. in Health Science with a minor in Psychology. She has pursued a career in genetic counseling since the start of her undergraduate degree, but this decision was solidified after working as a research assistant at The Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research at Boston Children’s Hospital. In her free time, Morgan enjoys traveling and exploring new restaurants here in Boston.

Meghan Dean

Meghan is a Massachusetts native, leaving only to pursue her Undergraduate degrees in Biology and Psychology from Franklin & Marshall College. With her family back in MA, Meghan returned in 2015 to work as a clinical research coordinator at Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH). During her two years at BCH, Meghan conducted multi-center rare neurogenetic disease research studies focused on further characterizing the neurological and neurodevelopmental outcomes of individuals with Tuberous Sclerosis, PTEN Hamartoma Tumor Syndrome, and Phelan-McDermid Syndrome. These experiences only supplemented her lifetime dedication to advocacy for individuals with a variety of special needs. Meghan is a long-time participant and teacher of inclusion dance classes, and currently works as a teacher with the Boston Ballet’s Adaptive Dance Program. Meghan spends the rest of her time traveling with family and friends, running along the Charles River, pretending she’s a yogi, and trying all of Boston’s fabulous restaurants.

Katie Dunn

Originally from Fairfax, Virginia, Katie found her home in Boston as a Behavioral Neuroscience major at Northeastern University.  At Northeastern, Katie was an intern at The Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research at Boston Children’s Hospital. She continued this position after graduation as a full time Research Assistant, where she worked on genetic studies such as The BabySeq Project and the Beggs Congenital Myopathy Research Program. Katie also volunteers as a crisis hotline counselor for Parents Helping Parents, a 24-hour hotline that provides counseling and resources to parents in crisis. In her spare time, you can catch Katie scoping out (and Instagramming) Boston’s bustling restaurant scene, planning her next vacation, and spending time lakeside with her friends.

Chandler Means

Chandler grew up in Simi Valley, California and attended San Diego State University where she graduated with a degree in biology. During her time at SDSU, she worked in the Cancer Disparities and Cancer Communications Lab where she was able to explore the implications of media in healthcare, as well as study the fears, concerns, and misconceptions associated with bio specimen donation. Chandler also worked as a resource counselor for Community Interface Services where she worked one-on-one with individuals with developmental disabilities. After graduation, she took a year off and traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina for a public health internship with InterAmerican Heart Foundation. Chandler also spent that year as a crisis counselor for Crisis Text Line and a caregiver at Right Choice In-home Care, which gave her additional exposure to individuals in the disability community. In her free time she loves to go camping, do yoga, read non-fiction books, and travel to new places. She is very excited about her move across the country and cannot wait to embrace all that Boston has to offer.

Madeline Miller

Born and raised in Colorado, Madeline studied Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and Spanish at the University of Colorado. During her college years she studied p53 in a cancer research laboratory as well as spent a semester abroad traveling Latin America and studying in Lima, Peru. Following graduation she volunteered with a Christian organization in Big Bend National Park, Texas for seven months before backpacking Europe. Most recently she worked in the emergency department as a medical scribe and volunteered as a Spanish/English medical interpreter at a free Denver healthcare clinic for underserved patients. In her free time she enjoys traveling, climbing mountains, running, and swing dancing with her husband.

Abby Sassaman 

Abby is originally from San Antonio, Texas and moved to California to attend UC Berkeley where she majored in Integrative Biology with a minor in Global Poverty. During her time as an undergraduate she was involved in an array of social impact organizations, which incorporated her passion for poverty alleviation and healthcare advocacy. This included volunteering with the local homeless population through the Suitcase Clinic, helping pilot the Decision Services team at UCSF to allow patients to make informed decisions about their care, and setting up mobile medical clinics in Honduras and South Africa. After her time at UC Berkeley, Abby moved to San Francisco where she spent three years at Counsyl in patient and clinic facing support and advocacy roles. Here she discovered the amazing potential of the genetic counseling field and became eager to get involved. To expand her counseling skill set, she spent the past year volunteering at a crisis hotline, catering to the elderly and disabled communities across the nation. One of her greatest passions is traveling and exploring new places, so she is eager to start a new adventure in Boston.

Courtney Studwell

Courtney is from Colchester, CT and graduated in 2017 from the University of Connecticut (Go Huskies!) with a B.S. in Diagnostic Genetic Sciences and a minor in Molecular and Cell Biology. Courtney recently completed a six-month internship at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in the Laboratory for Clinical Genomics and Advanced Technologies, where she was trained in molecular diagnostic techniques and completed a research project focusing on molecular HPV testing in low and middle income countries. While at UConn, Courtney served as a student leader for COPE, a program that teaches coping strategies to children going through difficult times, and volunteered as an HIV tester/counselor in a nearby city. Courtney also started figure skating at the age of 5 and was honored to represent UCONN at intercollegiate competitions throughout the east coast. She enjoys spending time with friends, binge watching Grey’s Anatomy or The Office, traveling, and anything that is nerdy and genetics related. She is looking forward to exploring all that the city of Boston has to offer!

Victoria Suslovitch

Victoria (Tori) is from New Hampshire and graduated from the University of Tampa with a degree in Biology and minors in Chemistry and Education. In her search for a career that combines science and service, she explored both public health and teaching experiences before finding genetic counseling. Tori studied abroad at the University of Oxford where she took tutorials in population health and sustainable agriculture. This experience led her to an internship at the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, where she worked primarily on policy reviews for vaccines and monoclonal antibodies. Tori has also worked in both general and special education settings, and is particularly interested in pediatric genetic counseling and the genetic aspects of autism spectrum disorders. Outside of work and school, Tori enjoy running, reading, cooking, and traveling.

Joanna Urli

Joanna is from Massapequa, NY, which is on Long Island.  She is a graduate  of the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!) with a degree in Biology with minors in Women’s Studies and Psychology. Joanna also had the opportunity to study abroad in Italy and have internships at Penn State and Mt. Sinai during her undergraduate career. She loves spending time with her big Italian family and doing their favorite activity together, which is eating! Joanna has two younger brothers who are twins and her best friends. They both just started college; one at Georgia Tech and one at the University of Maine. Joanna’s favorite things to do in her free time are watch college football, work with activist organizations, listen to folk music, and read pretty much any book she can get her hands on. She is excited to begin her career as a genetic counselor at Boston University, since attending BU for graduate school has been her plan since she was a senior in high school!

Ashley Wong

Ashley was born and raised in Hong Kong where she attended an international school taught in both English and Chinese. Having gained exposure to the genetics field through interning at labs and shadowing a clinical geneticist, she knew she wanted to work in a field that encompassed both her interest in medical genetics and its psychosocial aspect. Ashley completed her undergraduate studies at Cornell University studying Biological Sciences with a concentration in Genetics, Genomics and Development. Ashley also volunteered as a peer counselor and worked in a plant genetics lab in college. In her junior year, she studied abroad in Paris where she discovered her love for farmer’s markets and cooking. One of Ashley’s favorite things to do in her spare time is to people watch at corner cafes with a black coffee, a croissant and a lot of sunshine.