Hometown: Mississauga, ON
Program: MSc, Genetic Counselling
Year in Program: 2
What inspired you to pursue your program?
I was inspired to pursue genetic counselling because it combines two strong interests of mine – teaching and health care. Additionally, being able to educate patients and families on genetics, while also providing psychosocial support is a unique combination that I grew to become passionate about, especially after having shadowed genetic counsellors in multiple specialties. The rewarding feeling of doing so is what keeps me going through challenging moments of the program.
Why did you choose UBC?
What initially drew me to UBC’s Genetic Counselling program was the opportunity to begin clinical rotations in my first year. I truly believe that I learn best by doing, so being immersed in clinic as early as possible in my training was an ideal fit! Additionally, as someone who enjoys the outdoors, I was excited to experience all the natural beauty that B.C. has to offer. After having completed a year in the program, I really appreciate how supportive the program leadership and my classmates have been and am glad to be pursuing my training here.
Tell me about your research
Parent-of-Origin-Aware genomic analysis (POAga) is a new technology that uses a child’s blood sample to determine if a hereditary cancer predisposition variant was inherited through the mother or father. My research team and I are exploring patient experiences with family communication about hereditary cancer risk after participating in POAga. Our goal is to interview a diverse group of POAga participants at BC Cancer to explore how POAga results supported them with family communication, decision making processes about family communication and outcomes for family members.
What are you most looking forward to this year?
This year, I am most looking forward to spending a semester in Victoria and expanding my clinical skills in this new environment as I work towards becoming a board-eligible genetic counsellor. I also look forward to welcoming the cohort of 2025 and making more memories with my wonderful classmates!