Illinois Society of Genetic Professionals

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Executive Board

President

Melissa Hsu, MS, CGC

President@illinoisgenetics.org

Illinois Society of Genetic Professionals, President
Symposium Committee Member

Melissa Hsu graduated from Northwestern University’s Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling in 2009, after studying Biology at Calvin College (now Calvin University) and graduating with honors. She currently serves as a laboratory genetic counselor with Baylor Genetics, working primarily as a client liaison to facilitate optimal genetic test ordering and communication of results. Previously, she served as a prenatal genetic counselor with Advocate Medical Group at Lutheran General Hospital, where she created a 2-year OB Resident genetics curriculum. Melissa is passionate about teaching and mentoring students in genetics and does so in various ways through her faculty positions with the Northwestern and Baylor Genetic Counseling training programs, and the National Society of Genetic Counselors. Melissa also has also served as a reviewer for the Journal of Genetic Counseling, and is a past chair of the NSGC Prenatal Special Interest group.

Secretary

Shelly Weiss McQuaid, MS, CGC

President@illinoisgenetics.org

Strategic Planning Initiative #1 Committee Member
Advocacy Committee Member

Shelly Weiss McQuaid graduated from Northwestern University’s Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling in 2009, after obtaining her BS in Brain, Behavior & Cognitive Science at the University of Michigan. She currently serves as a pediatric genetic counselor at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago where she founded the Cancer Predisposition Program and serves on the laboratory utilization management team. She is a core faculty member for the Northwestern Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling and on the Board of Directors for the Norton & Elaine Sarnoff Center for Jewish Genetics.

Treasurer

Mike Suguitan, MS, CGC Treasurer@illinoisgenetics.org

Strategic Planning Initiative #1 Committee Member

Mike Suguitan earned his Master’s degree at the University of Minnesota Genetic Counseling Program in 2017, and Bachelor’s degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Mike is a cancer genetic counselor at Northwestern Medicine (West Region), specifically at the cancer centers in Geneva, IL and Dekalb, IL. He is an active member of the genetics community as a supervisor for the Northwestern University Genetic Counseling Program, and as a committee member of the ACGC Diversity Task Force.

Past-President

Allison Goetsch Weisman, MS, CGC

Symposium Committee Member
Marketing Committee Member

Allison Goetsch Weisman is the Past President of the Illinois Society of Genetic Professionals. During her 2019 Presidential term, Allison focused on state advocacy initiatives on behalf of genetic professionals and the rare disease community. She received her Master’s degree in genetic counseling from Northwestern University in 2014, and was certified by the ABGC in 2014. She is a pediatric genetic counselor in the Division of Genetics, Birth Defects, & Metabolism at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, where she serves as clinic coordinator for the Neurofibromatosis specialty clinic and provides genetic counseling to patients and families in the Disorders of Sex Development (DSD) program. In 2016, Allison was the “CodeTalker” award winner – a patient nominated national award for excellence in genetic counseling. In addition to her clinical role, Allison is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She enjoys teaching, supervising, and conducting research. Her research interests include fertility preservation and the healthcare transition process. Allison has several publications in these areas of interest, including co-authorship of Fertility Preservation and Restoration for Patients with Complex Medical Conditions, a medical textbook. Allison is currently devoting her research time to the coordination of a multi-site Neurofibromatosis healthcare transition readiness study as well as serving as a member of the National Society of Genetic Counselors’ (NSGC) Neurofibromatosis Practice Resource committee.

President-Elect

Brittany DeGreef, MS, CGC

Symposium Committee Member
Marketing Committee Member

Brittany DeGreef received her Master’s degree in Genetic Counseling from Northwestern University in 2016 after receiving her Bachelors of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in 2010. She was board certified by the American Board of Genetic Counselors in 2017. She is a clinical cancer genetic counselor at Northwestern Medicine in the Cancer Genetics Program. She has a special interest in inherited hematologic malignancies and is working to establish a clinic for these patients and families. Aside from her clinical roles, Brittany is an instructor in the Department of Clinical Genetics at the Feinberg School of Medicine and is a core faculty member for the Northwestern Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling. Brittany joined ISGP in 2016, serves on the community outreach committee, and became President Elect in 2020.

Board Member At Large

Jessica Stoll, MS, CGC

Jessica Stoll graduated from the Northwestern University Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling and was board certified by ABGC in 2014. She joined Tempus Labs as their first genetic counselor in 2019, working with the clinical genetics, clinical science, and neuro/psych teams, aiding in the design of new products, refinement of clinical reports, and internal science training. She has prior clinical experience in cancer genetics, most notably as the Associate Director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Risk and Prevention Clinic at University of Chicago Medicine. Her other career focus has been in educational programming, designing curriculum and presenting on clinical genetics to trainees in multiple specialties, including genetic counseling students, residents and fellows, and practicing clinicians. She is an active member of the Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited Gastrointestinal Cancer (CGA-IGC), currently serving on the Education Committee and as a previous Council member. She has been a member of the Illinois Society of Genetic Professionals (ISGP) since 2014.

Board Member At Large

Sara Cherny, MS, CGC

Sara Cherny is proud to be an ISGP Board Member at Large. Through the ISGP, she is active on the Advocacy Committee, working to increase awareness of genetic counselors as well as legislation to increase access to genetic counseling services in Illinois. Sara is a genetic counselor in the Cardiovascular Genetics Center at Lurie Children's Hospital, where she is involved in research, program development, and most importantly, patient care.

Illinois Society of Genetic Professionals

Chicago, IL USA