Faculty
The Genetic Counseling Graduate Program faculty draws on nationally and internationally recognized leaders in genetic counseling theory and practice, medical genetics and genomics, laboratory genetics, statistical genetics, genetic epidemiology, public health and ethics. Our faculty is comprised of genetic counselors, medical geneticists, basic science researchers and other highly qualified instructors.
Program Faculty
Robin Bennett, M.S., CGC (she/her) — Program Director
Robin Bennett brings over 35 years of experience in genetic counseling to the UW Genetic Counseling Graduate Program. During her career, she has cared for more than 25,000 patients in the Genetic Medicine Clinic at the UW Medical Center and helped train future genetic counselors and medical geneticists. Globally recognized as a leader in genetics education, Robin has lectured and consulted in Australia, Saudi Arabia and China. She helped develop the National Society of Genetic Counselors’ protocol for the creation of practice guidelines and is the author of The Practical Guide to the Genetic Family History.
Robin has served as president of the National Society of Genetic Counselors, a member of the board of directors of the American Board of Genetic Counseling and a founding board member and past president of the Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling. She currently serves on the board of directors of the American Society of Human Genetics. She's the recipient of multiple awards, including the UW Distinguished Staff Award and the UW Department of Medicine Distinguished Faculty Award. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Kenyon College, which later awarded her an honorary scientific doctorate. Robin is a graduate of the Human Genetics Program at Sarah Lawrence College.
Brad Rolf, M.S., CGC (he/him) — Associate Program Director
Brad Rolf has been a genetic counselor at the University of Washington since 2013. His research interests include polygenic risk, genetic counseling education and genetic counseling for patients who identify as LGBTQ. Before joining the faculty of the Genetic Counseling Graduate Program, he worked primarily as a research genetic counselor. In this role he coordinated the genetics study of the Therapeutic Pipeline Project, a research project aimed at determining the efficacy of whole-exome sequencing for inherited forms of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. He also worked on one of the Clinical Sequencing Evidence-Generating Research consortium projects that focused on delivering genetic testing and genetic counseling services for inherited cancer risk to underserved populations. Brad earned a master’s degree in genetic counseling at the University of Texas Health Science Center.
Penny Chow, M.S., CGC (she/her) — Director of Fieldwork Education
Penny Chow started with the UW Genetic Counseling Graduate Program in early 2021. For over 15 years, she worked as a pediatric genetic counselor at Seattle Children's Hospital. While most of her current clinical focus is in the Craniofacial Center and the 22q Clinic, in the past she has worked at the Seattle Children’s Hospital Biochemical Genetics Clinic, the Genetic Medicine Clinic, the Metabolic Bone Disease Clinic and the State of Alaska Biochemical Genetics Clinic.
Penny started the genetic counseling internship program at Seattle Children’s in 2009 and oversaw the program for more than 10 years. She brings the expertise she gained to her current role in the UW GCGP as the director of fieldwork education. In addition to her love of pediatric genetic counseling, her other passions are training genetic counseling students and coordinating clinical rotations. Penny has a master’s degree in genetic counseling from California State University, Northridge.
Elizabeth Blue, Ph.D. (she/her)
Elizabeth Blue, an associate professor in the Department of Medicine, is a statistical geneticist whose research focuses on identifying genetic variants influencing complex and Mendelian traits. While her lab focuses on genetic modifiers of Alzheimer’s disease, she is highly collaborative, actively participating in the Alzheimer's Disease Sequencing Project, the Cystic Fibrosis Genome Project, the UW Center for Mendelian Genomics and the Pacific Northwest Undiagnosed Diseases Network. She's also a member of the Institute for Public Health Genetics. Elizabeth hopes to share her knowledge and enthusiasm for population genetics, statistical genetics and bioinformatics with the students of the Genetic Counseling Graduate Program. She earned her doctorate in anthropology at the University of Utah.
Katie Golden-Grant, M.S., LCGC (she/her)
Katie Golden-Grant is a genetic counselor with 10 years of experience in pediatric rare diseases. She has worked in clinical and research settings at Seattle Children's Hospital and the University of Washington and is currently a senior genetic counselor with the Illumina Clinical Services Laboratory, where she analyzes and interprets genome sequencing data for individuals with rare, undiagnosed diseases. Katie is passionate about increasing access to and benefit of genomic diagnostic technologies worldwide. She earned a master’s degree in genetic counseling from the University of Colorado.
Raj Kapur, M.D., Ph.D. (he/him)
Raj Kapur is a professor of laboratory medicine and pathology, and practices a combination of surgical and autopsy pathology at Seattle Children’s Hospital. He directs the autopsy program at Seattle Children’s, where his team performs expert examinations on fetuses and infants with birth defects, which are referred from around the Puget Sound region. His love of human embryology began during medical school and led to his doctoral studies of preimplantation mouse embryo development at the University of Southern California. His postdoctoral work included autopsy studies of malformed human fetuses in the Center for Human Embryology at the University of Washington, as well as basic science research related to neural crest cell migration in transgenic murine embryos. Raj is eager to review classic human embryology with a heavy emphasis on practical issues that relate specifically to genetic counseling. He earned a medical degree and a doctorate in anatomy and cell biology at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
raj.kapur@seattlechildrens.org
Danny Miller, M.D., Ph.D. (he/him)
Danny Miller is an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology. His research interests include using long-read sequencing to identify missing disease-causing variations and understanding the impact of genomic variants detected by long-read sequencing. He is also interested in using long-read sequencing as a single clinical test to both increase the rate of genetic diagnosis and decrease the amount of time required to make a genetic diagnosis. Danny earned his medical degree and a doctorate in physiology from the University of Kansas.
Sarah Nelson, MPH, Ph.D. (she/her)
Sarah Nelson is an interdisciplinary researcher interested in the ethical and social implications of genomics in research, clinical care and everyday life. In addition to her clinical instructor position for the Public Health Genetics program, she is a senior research scientist involved with the coordination and implementation of several large-scale NIH genomics research consortia through the UW Genetic Analysis Center. Sarah earned her Master of Public Health and doctorate in public health genetics from the University of Washington.
Whitney Neufeld-Kaiser, M.S., CGC (she/her)
Whitney Neufeld-Kaiser is a laboratory genetic counselor supporting the Cytogenetics and Clinical Genomics Labs at the University of Washington Medical Center. She has 25 years of experience as a genetic counselor, primarily in reproductive and laboratory genetics. Whitney has served on the National Society of Genetic Counselors’ Board of Directors and twice on the American Board of Genetic Counseling Practice Analysis Committee. She was awarded the UW Clinical Pathology Staff of the Year award in 2021 in recognition for her outstanding teaching and training of medical residents. Along with her passion for genetics, Whitney finds joy in making music with her husband and friends, birding and gardening. Whitney has a master’s degree in genetics from the University of Washington and a master’s degree in genetic counseling from the University of California-Irvine.
Lauren Puryear, M.S., CGC (she/her)
Lauren Puryear is a clinical assistant professor in the UW Genetic Counseling Graduate Program and a clinical genetic counselor in the UW adult genetics clinic. She graduated from Stanford University’s Human Genetics and Genetic Counseling program and previously worked as a teacher, trainer and mediator.
Lauren Slevin, Ph.D., M.S., CGC (she/her)
Lauren Slevin is a practicing prenatal genetic counselor at Swedish First Hill and Providence Everett Maternal Fetal Medicine. Her clinical interests are centered around reproductive genetics and the psychosocial and cultural aspects of reproductive decision-making. She earned her doctorate in biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, followed by a master’s degree in genetic counseling from California State University, Stanislaus.
Jenny Thies, M.S., CGC (she/her)
Jenny Thies is a clinical genetic counselor in the Biochemical Genetics Clinic at Seattle Children's Hospital. She is passionate about education and clinical research in the areas of biochemical genetics, newborn screening and ultra rare disease. She earned her master’s degree in genetic counseling from the University of Oklahoma.