MEDICAL GENETICS The Division of Medical Genetics resides jointly in the Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and the Department of Pediatrics. The mission of the division is to provide high quality, timely and state-of-the-art genetic consultations, counseling, and interventions for patients from the prenatal period through childhood, adolescence, and into adulthood. This past year Karen Rubin, MD, was appointed interim division chief of the Pediatric Clinical Genetics Program at Connecticut Children’s to lay the groundwork for building a contemporary pediatric genetics/genomics program. Recognizing the large administrative burden of genetic testing, a new job description and position, genetic counselor assistant, was approved to offload administrative tasks from geneticists and genetic counselors. Divisional Structure and Staffing: A multidisciplinary Genetics Care Team comprised of clinical geneticists, genetic counselors, and metabolic dieticians provides genetics/genomics expertise and services across the life continuum at UConn Health and Connecticut Children’s. The consolidated care team is comprised of 2.0 FTE clinical medical geneticists, 2.0 FTE prenatal genetic counselors, 0.8 FTE general genetic counselor, 0.8 FTE newborn screening (NBS) genetic counselor, 1.8 FTE hereditary cancer genetic counselors, 1.0 FTE teratology counselor, and 0.8 FTE metabolic dietitians. The academic, administrative, and clinical offices reside at 11 South Road, Farmington. Pediatric-aged general genetic patients and metabolic patients are seen at the Connecticut Children’s office at that location, and adult general genetics patients are seen at a UConn Health office at the same address. Prenatal and hereditary cancer genetic counseling services are provided in the outpatient pavilion on the main UConn Health campus. MotherToBaby CT, our teratogen-counseling program, provides additional prenatal counseling services at 195 Farmington Ave., Farmington, CT.
Educational mission: The division’s teaching responsibilities begin in the first year of medical school and extend through the postgraduate years. A substantial number of medical students, residents, fellows, and genetic counselor learners rotate through Genetic clinics and/or attend educational sessions provided by Genetics faculty. Participation on a national committee: Sharon Voyer Lavigne, MS, LGC, serves on the board of directors for the Organization of Teratology Information Services (OTIS). (She also serves as vice president of the board of directors for Postpartum Support International, Connecticut Chapter.) Collaborations within UConn Health: The Medical Genetics division supports UConn’s Maternal-Fetal Medicine Program and the Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center in Farmington. Increased adoption of non-invasive prenatal genetic testing and of expanded and improved test offerings for patients with hereditary cancers continue to drive up patient volumes in the prenatal service and the hereditary cancercounseling program. MotherToBaby CT expanded its statewide coverage over the past year. Collaborations within Connecticut Children’s: Joseph Tucker, MD, continues in his role as an active member of the GUPPE program, which provides multidisciplinary care for children with disorders of sexual development. The program also includes members of Connecticut Children’s Urology, Psychiatry, Psychology, and Endocrinology divisions.
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