McDougal, Dara, Aminah

Genetic information has great potential to guide medical care. Using this information effectively requires identifying when it is appropriate to have genetic testing, what the appropriate test is, and clearly communicating the implications of this testing. I chose clinical genetics as a field to help use this exciting technology to help people understand when this information might be important to their health.

What I enjoy most about the practice of clinical genetics is working with a team of talented genetic counselors to identify a specific explanation for the symptoms present in an individual and/or their family members, and then to be able to provide guidance about the nature of the condition, management recommendations, and risk assessment for other family members. Although this goal is not always attainable (and sometimes a persons health condition is not caused by a problem with a single gene), improvements in genetic technologies have given us better and better tools with which to make a specific genetic diagnosis. Advancements in genomic medicine require us to continually innovate and evolve our clinical practice based on the most rigorous and reliable scientific evidence, so that we can facilitate the most effective genetic evaluations for a broad range of adults with concerns about hereditary conditions.