Education
PhD, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2006
MSc, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2001
Overview
I currently serve as the Associate Director of the NHGRI/Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Genetic Counseling Training Program. While I am employed at the NHGRI, I maintain close collaborations with colleagues at Johns Hopkins and teach within the training program.
My research focuses on communication within the genetics/genomics context. Particularly, I am interested in providing evidence to inform who needs what kind of communication at what point in time, delivered by what kind of of media. I ask questions related to how variation in the process of communication in genetic counseling links to outcomes for clients. I have a specific interest in understanding how to most appropriately tailor communication to populations with cognitive difficulties or limited literacy. I have worked with Debra Roter on the largest study of routine genetic counseling communication done to date and am currently involved in a study in collaboration with Robert Green's REVEAL project to understand the Alzheimer's risk disclosure process with individuals with mild cognitive impairment. I also have emerging interests in the outcomes of genomics communication beyond the interpersonal clinical interaction as well as an interest in translating evidence of communication best practices into the healthcare training environment.
Honors and Awards
Delta Omega Honor Society, 2006