ACMG Foundation announces 2021 recipients of Carolyn Mills Lovell Genetic Counselor Award

Adrienne Bailey, MS, CGC and Renee S. Jones, MS, LCGC are the recipients of the 2021 ACMG Foundation Carolyn Mills Lovell Genetic Counselor Award. Ms. Bailey received the Lovell award for her platform presentation, “A Tale of Two Years: Effects of a Shift in Genetic Counseling Modality on Genetic Testing Uptake and Follow-through,” and Ms. Jones for her platform presentation, “Patient Education for Prenatal Aneuploidy Testing using a Chatbot: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.”

ACMG Foundation President Bruce R. Korf, MD, PhD, FACMG said, “These awards continue our tradition of recognizing the critical contributions of genetic counselors as members of the genetics and genomics healthcare team. They exemplify the commitment and adaptability of genetic counselors in serving patients to ensure that genetic testing and education are available and made as accessible as possible.”

Adrienne Bailey is a manager of Genetic Counseling at Labcorp Genetics. In that capacity, she provides reproductive and preconception genetic counseling, manages a team of genetic counselors, and co-coordinates the company’s genetic counseling scholarship program at University of California, Irvine. She knows firsthand the importance of training genetic counseling students and mentoring new genetic counselors. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology, Molecular Genetics, and Immunology from University of California, Los Angeles, and a Master of Science in Genetic Counseling from Northwestern University. She is board certified in genetic counseling by the American Board of Genetic Counseling and licensed by the State of California.

Upon receiving the award, Ms. Bailey said, “Thank you to the ACMG Foundation for selecting my abstract to receive the 2021 ACMG Foundation Carolyn Mills Lovell Genetic Counselor Award. I am honored to have my work and the work of my colleagues recognized by the ACMG Foundation. This abstract would not have been possible without my coauthors, Joan B. Oliver, MS, CGC and Amy Cronister, MS, CGC. Additionally, I would like to thank Kristi Fissell, MS, CGC, Denise Ramsey, and Denise Cutillo, MS, CGC, for their numerous contributions. Finally, I am grateful for the support of all the team members at Labcorp Genetics, who have been generous with their time and assistance.”

Renee Jones is a Senior Genetic Counselor at Roche Diagnostics Solutions in San Jose, CA. She received her bachelor’s degree in microbiology from the University of Massachusetts, and completed her master’s degree in genetic counseling at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. She is board certified in genetic counseling by the American Board of Genetic Counseling and is licensed by the State of Indiana. Renee became interested in how technology could improve both patient and provider understanding of emerging genetic tests while practicing prenatal genetic counseling in two urban hospitals, as well as teaching prenatal genetics to counseling students as an adjunct professor at Indiana University School of Medicine, Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics. She is currently a member of the Roche Medical Affairs Women’s Health team, where she works to improve education about and access to prenatal testing. Ms. Jones is the past president of the Indiana Network of Genetic Counselors (2008-2012) and a past chairwoman of the Upgrade4Genetics annual education conference hosted by the same organization (2009, 2016).

Upon receiving the award, Ms. Jones said, “I am honored to receive this award. Broad adoption of novel clinical ideas requires demonstration of their effectiveness. Innovative educational approaches are no exception to this clinical tenet. Our research was the result of collaboration between academia, private clinical practice, industry, and software development. Working with my abstract co-authors was a privilege, and I especially want to mention the contribution of my colleague Kelly Chen, MS, LCGC, whose vision and early development work made this study possible. The challenges of 2020 affected the timeline of our study, and highlighted the value of providing patients with credible medical information digitally. We hope that this study will encourage the adoption of alternative platforms to educate patients and obtain meaningful informed consent in the rapidly expanding arena of genetic testing. I am very grateful to the ACMG Foundation for this recognition.”

The Carolyn Mills Lovell Award was made possible by a generous donation from former ACMG medical director David Flannery, MD, FAAP, FACMG to honor Carolyn Mills Lovell, MAT, MS, CGC, a genetic counselor who continues to provide exemplary service and care to patients and their families at Augusta University, previously known as the Medical College of Georgia (MCG). Dr. Flannery worked with Carolyn Mills Lovell for more than 15 years while he was at MCG. Through this award he also wanted to recognize the contributions and accomplishments of all genetic counselors.

The award includes a cash prize of $1,000 and is presented to the recipients annually through 2024. The recipient is chosen based on the highest rated abstract submitted by a genetic counselor to the ACMG Annual Meeting.

“Congratulations to Adrienne Bailey and Renee S. Jones, as the recipients of this year’s award. This year is extraordinary because for the first time two genetic counselors, Ms. Bailey and Ms. Jones received the same exact score in the review process, consequently they each will receive a $1000 award,” said David Flannery, MD, FAAP, FACMG. “I established this award to honor Carolyn Mills Lovell, MAT, MS, CGC, who was an exemplary genetic counselor. It was created to recognize the important contributions of genetic counselors to patient care and to research in the field of medical genetics. Their research demonstrates the important role genetic counselors play in clinical research in medical genetics and improving delivery of genetic services.”

###

About the ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine

The ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is a community of supporters and contributors who understand the importance of medical genetics and genomics in healthcare. Established in 1992, the ACMG Foundation supports the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) mission to “translate genes into health.” Through its work, the ACMG Foundation fosters charitable giving, promotes training opportunities to attract future medical geneticists and genetic counselors to the field, shares information about medical genetics and genomics, and sponsors important research. To learn more and support the ACMG Foundation mission to create “Better Health through Genetics” visit

http://www.

acmgfoundation.

org

.

Note to editors: To arrange interviews with experts in medical genetics, contact ACMG Senior Director of Communications and Public Relations, Kathy Moran, MBA at

[email protected]

.