We’re recapping and reflecting on the 43rd National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) Annual Conference that took place in vibrant New Orleans. As always, the sense of community was incredible, and this year was no exception. I had the privilege of reconnecting with past guests, sponsors of the show, classmates, and meeting new people. It’s always surreal to meet so many listeners in person—thank you for all your kind words and support! Producing a weekly episode since 2022 has been a labor of love, and this conference gave me the extra boost of motivation to keep going strong. In this recap episode, I had the chance to chat with attendees about their favorite moments from the conference. All these mini interviews were with genetic counseling students who shared what they learned at the conference. Students were from three programs: University of Pittsburgh, Baylor College of Medicine, and Sarah Lawrence College. We also took a deeper dive into one of the standout sessions, “Just Because We Can, Should We? Examining PGT Through the Lens of Ableism, Access, and Clinical Actionability” which was moderated by Courtney Studwell, MS, CGC. I caught up with another friend, Jovanni Cuevas, MS, CGC, to debrief on what we learned from the session. All these interviews were recorded in person at the conference, so you might hear a little background noise, but it adds to the ambiance of the lively event! Sessions References During The Episode: - “NSGC 2024 State of the Society Address” - Breakfast with Biomarin “A Deeper Look Into Achondroplasia” - “Just Because We Can, Should We? Examining PGT Through the Lens of Ableism, Access, and Clinical Actionability” - Professional Issues Panel “Genetic Counseling around the Globe” Insights, Lessons, and Collaboration for a Future-Proof Profession” - “Take it at Faith Value: A Look at the Needs of Genetic Counseling in the Hindu, Pakistani Muslim, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon), and Orthodox Jewish Communities” - “Beverly Rollnick Memorial Lecture: Ordering “The Cure” with a Side of Trepidation: The Challenges of Gene Therapy for Sickle Gene Disease” DNA Today Podcast Episodes Mentioned: #110 Gattaca, 22 Years Later #288 CRISPR Cured Victoria Gray’s Sickle Cell: Part 1 #289 CRISPR Cured Victoria Gray’s Sickle Cell: Part 2 #301 Dwarfism with Colleen Gioffreda #302 DNA Dialogues: Gender-Affirming Terminology and Hereditary Cancer Care #305 Transformative Therapies for Sickle Cell Disease with “Through The Genes” #306 NIH’s Dr. Francis Collins’ Leadership in the Human Genome Project and COVID-19 Curious about other NSGC conferences? We have recapped the last six years of conferences including 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. Other References During The Episode: - Little People of America (LPA) - Metabolic NSGC Special Interest Group (SIG) - DNA Dialogues, Journal of Genetic Counseling’s Podcast - The Road to Wisdom By Dr. Francis Collins It was such a meaningful experience to be part of the NSGC 43rd Annual Conference. Whether you joined us in New Orleans or attended virtually, I hope you found the sessions, panels, and networking just as inspiring as we did. Don't forget to mark your calendars! The 44th NSGC Annual Conference is happening next year in Seattle, WA from November 7-10, 2025. We are already excited to drink lots of Seattle coffee with fellow genetic counselors. Are you going to the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) Annual Conference in Denver, CO in November? Keep your eye out for our host Kira Dineen, who will mostly be in the exhibit hall. Just like this episode, she would be excited to record with you about what you learned at the conference. She also might give you DNA Today merch! Stay tuned for the next new episode of DNA Today on Friday! New episodes are released every Friday. In the meantime, you can binge over 300 other episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, streaming on the website, or any other podcast player by searching, “DNA Today”. Episodes since 2021 are also recorded with video which you can watch on our YouTube channel, this includes some episodes recorded at NBC Universal Stamford Studios. DNA Today is hosted and produced by Kira Dineen. Our video lead is Amanda Andreoli. Our social media lead is Kajal Patel. Our Outreach Intern is Liv Davidson. And our logo Graphic Designer is Ashlyn Enokian, MS, CGC. See what else we are up to on Instagram, X (Twitter), Threads, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and our website, DNAToday.com. Questions/inquiries can be sent to info@DNAtoday.com.
