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Noelle Danylchuk, M.S., CGC
Spotlight on the Department of Genetic Counseling
| We are often asked, “What is a genetic counselor?” In clinic, genetic counselors help patients navigate the emotional and psychological elements of inherited genetic conditions and genetic testing.
UAMS established the Master of Science in Genetic Counseling program in 2004 with its first cohort matriculating in 2006. An impetus of establishing the program was to develop “homegrown” talent. This investment has benefited Arkansans. In 2008, there were six genetic counselors in Arkansas. There are now 31 genetic counselors residing and working in the state and more than half are program alumni, including two graduates of the Class of 2025.
With our Class of 2025, we crossed the “100” mark and now boast 106 alumni. With our incoming cohort this fall, the program will record another first, our largest cohort in program history.
The program uses a hybrid model of in-person and video connection to connect all students and faculty for classes. Each cohort is split between the UAMS Little Rock and Northwest campuses during the first year of the program. In the second year, two students move to Louisville, Kentucky to complete their clinical training with Norton Healthcare and the University of Louisville. This past year, we established a new partnership with Oklahoma University Health Science Center (OUHSC).
In addition to the rigorous didactic and fieldwork courses, each student completes an original clinical research thesis project. About half our alumni have disseminated their research nationally through peer-reviewed posters, presentations and publications. Student research is supported by our student research grant funded by the Becky and Tom Butler Genetic Counseling Endowment. Additionally, one student from the Class of 2025 was awarded research funding through the National Society of Genetic Counselors.
Our program believes in the importance of community outreach and advocacy locally in Arkansas and nationally. Class of 2025 students represented UAMS at health-care and research related fundraisers. Additionally, two national organizations named two of our students to serve as student ambassadors.
We are one of the few Genetic Counseling graduate programs that allow students to complete the full LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) training curriculum. Three students from the Class of 2025 are now LEND graduates. Through this opportunity they each completed an additional 300 hours of education, research, and leadership experience related to supporting patients with neurodevelopmental disabilities.
Our program core faculty may be small, but it is accomplished. Our leaders include Alexandrea Wadley, Lori Williamson, and me. Wadley is our interim assistant program director and in addition to her teaching and administrative roles, Wadley is the senior genetic counselor at the UAMS Cancer Institute. She is expanding the cancer genetics clinic and has recently hired a new genetic counselor to assist. Further, Wadley has spoken at the Cancer Institute’s community cancer conversation series. She is also active in the education of other trainees including the radiation oncology residents and palliative care fellows at UAMS.
Williamson has served as the program’s student research coordinator since 2017 and was recently appointed director of research for the program. Williamson will be traveling to the Marshall Islands this summer in her role of consultant for a grant-funded project to develop newborn screening in the Marshall Islands.
The program is also supported by 12 adjunct faculty members consisting of both genetic counselors and geneticists and a statistician. G. Bradley Schaefer, M.D., and Elizabeth Sellars, M.D., both geneticists, serve as the program’s co-medical directors. Schaefer is a professor and Sellars is an associate professor, both in the UAMS Department of Pediatrics.
My service has been through volunteer work to national organizations that support genetic counseling education. This past year I served on the Genetic Counselor Educators Association (GCEA) Match Committee and the Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling (ACGC) Program Review Committee to review applications for new graduate programs.
Our program continues to provide high quality education and produces alums who are ready to be leaders within our field. I look forward to our continued growth and expansion.
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Noelle Danylchuk, M.S., CGC, is the chair of the Department of Genetic Counseling and an assistant professor in the department.