Episode 4: Chatting with a Genetic Counselor ft. Grace Branger, MGC
BuzzSprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2604852/episodes/19587907
YouTube: https://youtu.be/CRNzjvVoxtA
Overview
On Episode 4 of Roadmap to Rare, Eric Finn is joined by Grace Branger, MGC, a genetic counselor who helps families navigate genetic testing and rare disease diagnoses. Grace discusses the basis of genetic testing, explains how to make sense of a genetic report—including uncertain results—and speaks to the guilt parents may feel after a diagnosis. She also expands upon how genetic counseling supports the whole family and discusses questions that parents can ask genetic counselors.
Key takeaways:
- Introduction to Grace Branger and the role of a genetic counselor
- A plain-language guide to the main types of genetic testing
- How to read a genetic report, including interpreting variants of uncertain significance (VUS)
- Discussion of how genetic counseling supports the whole family, including siblings
Episode highlights:
2:26: Grace introduces herself and discusses what drew her to genetic counseling
6:09: Genetic Testing 101
7:53: The main types of genetic testing: karyotyping, chromosomal microarray, and sequencing
12:25: What kind of genetic test can identify an OCNDS diagnosis
14:57: How to read a genetic report
19:00: Understanding a “variant of uncertain significance (VUS)”
22:47: Self blame after a genetic diagnosis
27:00: How genetic counselors help families qualify for and find services
38:05 The question that Grace wishes more families would ask
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