Madison Badje, Courtney Davis and Angel Serafini, students in the Wake Forest Genetic Counseling Program, each received grant awards from the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) to assist with their capstone projects and other professional development opportunities.
Badje received the 'Rompiendo Barreras' (Breaking Barriers) grant from the NSGC Spanish Development Special Interest Group (SIG) that awards students with funding for research projects that aim to decrease health barriers for Hispanic communities. Her capstone project aims to create an informed consent module/video in multiple languages to help individuals partaking in carrier screening better understand their options.
Davis received the research grant from the NSGC Renal SIG that awards students with funding for research focused on kidney disease and genetics. Her capstone project aims to discover the psychosocial impact of genetic testing for adult-onset kidney disease in minors through qualitative interviews with those who had been tested under the age of 18.
Serafini received funding from the NSGC Cystic Fibrosis SIG to further her education and professional development with the cystic fibrosis research and clinical community. She used these funds to attend the North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, where she gained new perspectives on the cystic fibrosis research and clinical landscape. Along with professional development, she is also dedicating her capstone project to cystic fibrosis, leading a quality improvement study with the local cystic fibrosis center that aims to increase access to genetic counseling and assessing preferences regarding reproductive options.
The NSGC advances the various roles of genetic counselors in health care by fostering education, research and public policy to ensure the availability of quality genetic services.