GCTP Student Life

Austin Gable earned a B.S. in Neuroscience and a B.A. in English from the University of Cincinnati (UC) in May 2021. While obtaining his degree, Austin participated in a variety of research opportunities. These included working with Dr. David Fleck to analyze and publish PTSD treatment findings in collaboration with both the UC College of Medicine’s Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience Department and Cincinnati Veteran’s Affairs. Austin also participated in the NIH’s summer internship program, spending the summer of 2019 in Dr. Susan Gottesman’s lab of microbiology at NCI. After graduating, Austin returned to the NIH as an Undergraduate Payback Scholar within NICHD, collaborating with Dr. Claire Le Pichon to investigate neurodegenerative disorders through the characterization of a mouse model of traumatic brain injury via histologic, genetic, and behavioral observations. Austin has taken opportunities to share his work along the way, with several NIH Summer Internship Poster Fairs, the NIH’s 2022 Postbaccalaureate Poster Fair, and the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies 36^th Annual Meeting. He was recognized for an outstanding poster presentation at the NIH’s 2022 Postbaccalaureate Poster Fair. Outside of research, Austin worked for a year as a Residential Life Coach for the UC Transition and Access Program where he developed social plans and fostered independent living skills for students with developmental and intellectual disabilities. He also trained and served as a crisis counselor for Crisis Text Line and participated in a handful of writing opportunities, such as being a contributor for the NIH’s Undergraduate Scholarship Program Newsletter. Austin looks to combine his research, communication, and counseling skills as he pushes the boundaries of existing health knowledge, communicates findings in accessible language, and develops meaningful relationships with counseling clients.

Shayla Glover earned her BS in Human Biology with a Genetic Counseling concentration from Stanford University in September 2019.   From September 2016 to December 2018, Shayla served as a Research Assistant in Stanford’s Neurodevelopment, Affect, and Psychopathology Lab collaborating with Ian Gotlib, PhD on studies related to brain and behavior during infant development. From June 2017 to August 2017, Shayla earned a Human Biology Research Exploration Program Grant for 10 weeks of Humanities and Sciences Research. Shayla notes research interests in pediatric genetics, neurogenetics, and neurodevelopmental disorders. From July 2020 to April 2021 Shayla served as a Rape Response Advocate and a Rape Response/Prison Rape Elimination Act Hotline Responder for a Crisis Center in Birmingham where she arranged meetings with the sexual assault nurse examiner as well as counseled and supported survivors. She served as a Genetic Counseling Assistant for UCLA Pediatrics-Genetics working directly with Marina Dutra-Clarke, MS, CGC and JHU/NIH GCTP alum Ahna Neustadt, ScM, CGC in General Genetics and multidisciplinary clinics.

Olivia Grischow Dobbie earned her BS in Molecular Genetics from the Ohio State University in May 2022.   From April 2018 to May 2019, Olivia served as a Student Research Assistant assisting with activities related to the Dilated Cardiomyopathy Research Project at Ohio State University. From May to June 2019, Olivia studied abroad at the Norwegian Institute of Technology where she processed biological samples in a clinical lab and utilized NGS techniques and studied the ethical implications of rapidly advancing genetic technology. Starting in June 2019 Olivia served as a Research Assistant for the Institute of Genomic Medicine within the Nationwide Children’s Hospital where she performed experiments, analyzed genetic sequence data of epilepsy and brain cancer patients, and assisted genetic counselors in designing projects regarding germline and somatic variant analysis of pediatric patients. Olivia has 8 publications. Her thesis on characterizing the expression of individual immune cell types within pediatric central nervous system cancers was awarded the Undergraduate Research Scholarship by OSU. She gave an oral presentation at the OSU 2020 Spring Research Festival on the confirmation of somatic variants at ultra-low frequencies in seizure disorders using targeted amplicon sequencing methods.  She has continued interest in exploring genetic alterations in pediatric central nervous system cancers as well as pediatric epilepsy. Starting in August 2021 Olivia served as a Crisis Counselor for Crisis Text Line. Olivia is a current student in the JHU/NIH Genetic Counseling Training Program and has been volunteering at Safe Haven Equine Warriors in Sykesville, MD since August of 2022.

India Little grew up in Charlotte, NC and graduated from Davidson College in 2019 with her BS in Psychology and Computer Science. After graduating, she served as a Postbaccalaureate IRTA in NHGRI collaborating with Dr. Chris Gunter where she was trained in survey and qualitative research methods. She has designed and analyzed a large-scale survey assessing genetic literacy and genetic testing uptake for autism. Her research interests include health disparities, coping with illness, and the decision to pursue genetic testing. From 2019 to 2022, India served as a volunteer for RAINN’s Online Hotline, where she counseled those affected by sexual violence. She has experience mentoring students in biomedical research and is presently a writing tutor at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. In her free time, India enjoys playing tennis, baking sourdough bread, and playing with her cats, Simon and Twiggy.

Jennifer Osborne earned her BS in Biology and Slavic Studies from Brown University in May 2020.  During her time at Brown, Jennifer served as an undergraduate researcher for the Hart Lab in the Department of Neuroscience, and went on to publish her honors thesis examining genetic pathway analysis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in C. elegans. As an undergraduate, she also enjoyed working as a Russian language TA, Chinese instructor, and editor of the Brown Daily Herald’s weekly magazine. Starting in June 2020 she served as a Postbaccalaureate IRTA at NIH’s Sensory Cells and Circuits Section supporting activities related to the investigation of sensory neurons and circuits underlying reproductive deficits in individuals with the PIEZ02-deficiency syndrome. Her advocacy experiences include serving as a helpline specialist for the National Alliance for Mental Illness, where she provided 200 hours of information, resources, and support to individuals and families navigating mental health crises, treatment, and social services. She also provided over 200 hours of phone support for the local community as a Montgomery County Hotline Specialist. Jennifer’s current research interests include service delivery strategies to reduce health disparities, patient engagement in research, and ethical and practical issues surrounding variant/gene reclassification and secondary findings. During her free time, she enjoys long walks and hikes, cooking projects, and building Lego sets.

Giorgia Pino earned her M.S. in Counseling Psychology with a focus in Marriage and Family Therapy from Mount Saint Mary’s University in July 2022. She earned both her M.A. in Higher Education and Organizational Change and her B.A. in Italian from the University of California Los Angeles. In 2016 Giorgia earned A.A. degrees in History, Psychology, Art History, and General Studies in Social and Behavioral Science from Los Angeles Valley College. In 2020, Giorgia completed a Pre-Genetic Counselor Experiential Practicum through Columbia University.

Starting in August 2021, Giorgia served as a Marriage and Family Therapist Trainee for Being Alive, an HIV and AIDS Organization where she had a case load of 5-10 clients that met weekly for 50-minute individual therapy sessions. She possesses certifications in Cognitive Processing Therapy and Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy from the Medical University of South Carolina as well as Motivational Interviewing from the Addiction Technology Transfer Center Network. She has completed modules in Suicide Risk Assessment, Domestic Violence, and Child Abuse. Based on her past experiences working in mental health, Giorgia has an interest in psychiatric genomics. 

Starting in August 2020, Giorgia served as a Research Assistant collaborating with Dr. Amanda Romero, Dr. Shani Habibi, and Mikaela Vidmar Perrins to investigate the exploitation of legal systems as a function of escalating post-separation abuse among individuals with high conflict partners. She performed literature reviews, filed paperwork for IRB approval, designed and performed analysis on data collection surveys. Their team presented their research at the 2022 Hawai’i International Summit on Preventing, Assessing & Treating Trauma Across the Lifespan.

Hannah Davidson earned her BA in Biology, Culture and Maternal Health from Hampshire College in January 2019. Her undergraduate thesis explored maternal and provider meanings surrounding postpartum depression. Prior to entering graduate school, Hannah was an NIH Undergraduate Scholarship Program recipient who completed her payback at NIH/NHGRI supporting activities related to the “Inherited Disease, Caregiving, and Social Networks” study under Dr. Laura Koehly, including participant consents and interviewing, survey distribution, participant serum DNA extraction and data aggregation. In 2017 Hannah served as an NIH Summer Intern in the Biobehavioral Unit under Dr. Wendy Henderson, where she performed analyses on biological and self-report data to assess difference in miRNA expression, pain sensitivity and traumatic life events. Hannah also served as a CCSEP Summer Intern with Dr. Henderson, performing analysis of subject data to examine correlations between perceived stress, serum cortisol levels and eating behavior. Starting in October 2020 Hannah served as a Textline Volunteer (Remote) where she completed a 10-hour training on microcounseling skills, post-abortion emotional care, and crisis counseling, including 4 hours of take-home assignments. Starting in September 2019 Hannah served as a Hotline Volunteer at HIPS in Washington, DC, where she completed a 40-hour training and provided staffing to the HIPS hotline for 150 hours, including phone counseling, resource referral, and data processing/intake for people navigating challenges related to drug use, sexual assault, sex work, mental illness, and homelessness. Starting in September 2019 Hannah also served as a Volunteer Doula at the Community of Hope, Washington, DC where she supported parents through labor using emotional and physical support in a hospital setting and provided prenatal consultations for expectant parents working with midwives during COVID-19. She also served as a Postpartum Home Visit Volunteer for It Takes a Village, where she provided postpartum care in the form of emotional support, housekeeping, infant care, and resource referral and coordinated related trainings.

Liam Guille earned his BS in Molecular Biology and Physiology from the University of Wyoming in May 2021 with minors in Psychology and Queer Studies. Starting in June 2020 Liam focused on his Honors Capstone: “Assessing the Attitudes, Knowledge, and Behaviors of Wyoming Healthcare Practitioners toward Genetic Medical Practices: Current Positions and Potential Improvements.”  This included validating survey methods and successfully drafting a proposal with approval to conduct human subjects research by the University of Wyoming IRB. From September to December 2020 Liam worked on a Microbiology Capstone: Development of a Novel “Blind Spot” Epidemiological Metric for the COVID-19 pandemic in Wyoming. He collaborated with public health experts at the Wyoming Public Health Laboratories to design a project focused on statistically modelling the impacts of COVID-19 in Wyoming communities. This included utilizing R to complete a time series analysis of state mortality and estimate the extent of underreporting of COVID-19 mortalities in the state of Wyoming, as well as using an exploratory factor analysis to identify potential COVID-19 variables related to community susceptibility. Starting in September 2020 Liam served as a SAFE Project Intern Advocate, providing trauma-informed crisis counseling and case management to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. In this role he also advocated for clients in healthcare, housing, public assistance and criminal justice settings. From September 2018 to August 2020 Liam served as a SAFE Project Volunteer Advocate, where he completed a 40-hour training in crisis counseling and served on call for the 24-hour hotline, providing crisis counseling and case management via phone for over 450 hours.

Ananya Jain earned her BA degree in Genetics from Rutgers University in May 2021 with a minor in Sociology.  Starting in April 2018 Ananya served as a Research Assistant at the Center for Alcohol Studies, collaborating with Dr. Lei Yu to investigate whether variation in the genes Zc3h12b and Las1l are linked to increased susceptibility for alcohol use disorders. Starting in April 2020 Ananya served as a Peer Instructor for a First-Year Interest Group Seminar in Genetics and Genetic Counseling at Rutgers. In this role she devised a novel ten-week 70+ page curriculum for a one credit accredited college seminar that introduced students to the field of genetics and genetic counseling and resources for academic success. Starting in September 2019 Ananya served as a Learning Assistant for Implications of the New Genetics, facilitating class discussions regarding reprogenetics, consumer testing, CRISPR and stem cell research.  Starting in September 2019 Ananya served as a Crisis Hotline Listener for Caring Contact, where she completed a 54-hour volunteer listener training focused on building empathy and de-escalating crisis situations.  She provided emotional support to callers via a local hotline and the National Suicide Prevention Line.   From May to June 2019 Ananya served as a Social Work Intern for the Estuar Foundation and Elderly Care Foundation in Romania. In this role she planned and led engaging programming for vulnerable populations, including developing culturally sensitive and age-appropriate communication skills.  From September 2018 to May 2019 Ananya served as a Behavioral Assistant for the Collaborative Center for Community Based Research and Service, where she carried out individualized lessons for preschoolers on the Autism spectrum using Applied Behavioral Analysis. Starting in September 2020 Ananya served as a Genetic Counseling Shadowing Intern at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, where she observed genetic counseling phone/video appointments for breast, ovarian, colon and pancreatic cancers, analyzed cases observed, including writing case logs, and shadowed under a cancer genetic counselor.

Yifei Sylvia Lin earned her BS in Biology from the University of Rochester in May 2021 with a minor in Epidemiology. Her prior research experience includes serving as a Research Assistant starting in 2017 studying ways to improve the quality of life for patients with familial hypercholesterolemia via music therapy and the EPIC electronic health record at the University of Rochester. In this position she transcribed interviews and focus groups of research subjects, qualitatively coded, analyzed the data derived and participated in the writing of four manuscripts. Sylvia also served as a Health Project Coordinator in the Department of Public Health Sciences starting in 2019 supporting a national registry for patients with familial hypercholesterolemia to raise awareness of FH through research and education. She also worked at an aging biology lab on tumor suppression mechanisms starting in 2018. Sylvia provided community and mental health support during the COVID-19 pandemic by volunteering as a contact tracer and case investigator for the health department, a phone counselor for a youth crisis center, and a coach offering fellow individual college students mental wellness support. This included active listening, managing difficult conversations, and suicide prevention.  In addition, she co-founded a Public Health Ambassador Program, which recruited students to encourage the university community to practice COVID- 19 healthy behaviors, provide public health resources, and answer COVID-19 related questions. Starting in September 2020 she participated in a “Genetic Counseling Experience Initiative” – an online platform facilitating GC exposures in which she attended weekly informational lectures on a specific genetic syndrome by licensed and practicing genetic counselors. In her free time, Sylvia likes to do aerial arts and explore fun places in Baltimore such as food and hiking spots.

Makenna May earned her AB in French Language and Literature from Princeton University in June 2017 with certificates in Urban Studies and American Studies. As a Princeton senior with a strong interest in research, Makenna wrote an eighty-page thesis in English and translated it into French. In September 2019, she completed her 40-hour training and served as a Crisis of Mercer County, New Jersey Hotline volunteer, answering suicide intervention phone calls and responding to lifeline crisis chat messages from both children and adults. She was also a volunteer facilitator at Good Grief in Princeton, New Jersey, where she led a weekly small group of young elementary school students in discussion about the death of a parent and/or sibling in a supportive environment. She completed a 36-hour training composed of workshops on active listening techniques, childrens’ understanding of death at different age levels, and the process of grief for adults and children; her training also included practice facilitation of support groups. Starting in August 2019, she shadowed a genetic counselor on a weekly basis in the Maternal Fetal Medicine Unit at the UPenn Medicine Princeton Medical Hospital. She observed about 65 counseling sessions, including consultations about advanced maternal age, neurofibromatosis, triploidies, molar pregnancies, Hunter syndrome, fibroids, and craniosynostosis.

Emma Schopp earned her BS in Psychobiology from UCLA in June 2018 with a minor in Society and Genetics.  Starting in July 2019 Emma served as a Postbac IRTA Research Trainee at the NIH/NHGRI. Her NHGRI tasks included conducting behavioral research, data management, statistical analysis, IRB protocol submission, subject recruitment, professional presentations, hypothesis development and manuscript writing. She also attended seminars and completed training in statistical analysis, academic writing, and systematic literature review. From September 2018-June 2019 Emma served as an ORIEN Consent Specialist, consenting cancer patients to ORIEN Total Cancer Care, a research study conducting whole exome sequencing for germline and tumor samples of cancer patients to improve precision oncology by building a research database shared by a network of cancer centers. She worked with patients to explain the research, extracted relevant information from electronic medical records and pathology reports, and distributed a family history survey via Progeny. From 2016-2017 Emma served as a Research Assistant at the UCLA Institute for Society and Genetics where she transcribed, thematically coded, and analyzed sociological interviews from genetic counselors and other health professionals in the Undiagnosed Disease Network. Her volunteer experience included serving as an Active Listening Intern with 7 Cups of Tea and being a volunteer at the Prader-Willi California Foundation Annual State Conference where she facilitated activities for young children with Prader-Willi Syndrome. Since 2020 Emma has been an Associate Member of the Maryland and DC Society of Genetic Counselors.

Emily Stearns earned her BA in Biology from the University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis, MN in May 2019 with a minor in Psychology. Starting in August 2019 Emily served as a Genetic Counseling Assistant for GeneMatters, LLC, preparing patient consult notes, documenting pedigrees, and obtaining necessary medical records from patients and partnering healthcare providers. She also provided customer service and acted as a liaison between patients, external medical providers, and GeneMatters genetic counselors. From May to September 2017 Emily served as a Research Assistant at the Avera Institute of Human Genetics in Sioux Falls, SD where she assisted with research for Avera twin studies, performed data entry and observed laboratory work. From May to August 2018 Emily served as a Genetic Counseling Intern for the Sanford Health Genetics Department in Sioux Falls, SD where she observed specialty clinics, completed literature reviews, family histories and patient follow-up letters, and attended multi-disciplinary provider meetings. Starting in March 2020 Emily volunteered as a tutor in MN where she independently taught weekly English lessons via phone to beginning English language learners. Starting in September 2017 Emily served as an intern for Jack’s Basket in MN, where she provided resources to families of babies born with Down syndrome. In June 2019 Emily served as an Assistant Counselor for the Emory University Metabolic Camp where she co-led a support group for teenage women with PKU and MSUD during a week-long research camp and attended educational activities/lectures. From February 2018 to March 2020 Emily served as a Crisis Counselor for the Crisis Text Line in St. Paul, MN where she provided comfort to individual in crisis and helped them to identify coping mechanisms. From September 2017 to December 2018 Emily served as a Lecture Tutor at the University of St. Thomas Biology Department where she attended/assisted during the introductory genetics and evolution course and held weekly tutor sessions.