#152: Janice Berliner on Brooke’s Promise

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Joining our host, Kira Dineen, this week is Janice L. Berliner. She is the Director of the Master of Science in Genetic Counseling Program at Bay Path University and the Author of Brooke's Promise, a novel that follows a family through their journey and struggles as their love is pushed to the test while learning to live with their daughter’s disease.

Janice has been a genetic counselor for more than 29 years, having earned her MS in Human Genetics/Genetic Counseling from the University of Michigan becoming board-certified in 1993. She has served on the boards of directors of the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) and the American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC), and chaired the 2008 NSGC Annual Education Conference. She has also had the opportunity to be part of the hands-on training of a sizable number of genetic counseling graduate students, has served as the Editor-in-Chief of the NSGC quarterly newsletter, on the editorial board of the Journal of Genetic Counseling, and several committees of the NSGC and AGCPD (Association of Genetic Counseling Program Directors). Her second genetics novel is in the works.

Did you know there is a genetic counselor that specializes in offering care to those in the adoptee community? Brianne Kirkpatrick co-wrote “The DNA Guide for Adoptees” to provide a resource for those in the adoptee community who are utilizing DNA testing to find biological relatives or to seek out medical information. She also started Watershed DNA to offer personalized genetic counseling to directly support people in the aftermath of a surprise DNA discovery. You can hear Brianne share her insight from her book in episode 103 of DNA Today! Learn more at WatershedDNA.com where you can also book your consultation today with Brianne.

On This Episode We Discuss:

The inspiration behind Brooke’s Promise

Fertility genetic counselors

Failure to thrive in newborns

Pompe disease

Interpreting carrier screening results

Resources for parents of babies with genetic disorders

Preparing for a career in genetic counseling? Check out Keck Graduate Institute in Claremont, California! At KGI, you will gain the training and development to become an innovative, collaborative, and caring genetic counselor. KGI prepares graduates to be leaders among healthcare professionals dedicated to the delivery of advanced personally-optimized patient care and the translation of applied and clinical science breakthroughs to enhance the quality of life. So if you want to be a genetic counselor, check out KGI at kgi.edu/dnatoday.

Want to read Brooke’s Promise? Enter our giveaway to win your own copy! Head over to our Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook accounts to enter our giveaway to win one of five free copies.

To learn more about Janice and Brooke’s Promise, visit her ​​website, or check her out on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Stay tuned for the next new episode of DNA Today on August 6th, 2021 with Dr. Dayan Goodenowe about the genetics of dementia! New episodes are released on the first and third Friday of the month. In the meantime, you can binge over 150 other episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, streaming on the website, or any other podcast player by searching, “DNA Today”. Brand new in 2021, episodes are now also recorded with video which you can watch on our YouTube channel.

See what else we are up to on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and our website, DNApodcast.com. Questions/inquiries can be sent to info@DNApodcast.com.

The practice of genomic counselling and variant interpretation is advancing at an incredible pace. The University of British Columbia offers an online, flexible graduate certificate for genetic professionals who want to keep up. You will learn to apply the latest methods in clinical bioinformatics, variant interpretation, and genomic counselling. It’s an ideal way to earn CEUs while enhancing your genetic counselling practice. Learn more and register on their website.