Diane Koeller, M.S., MPH, L.C.G.C.
Monday, November 13th , 11:00 - 12:00PM
BSRB - 1020 Kahn Auditorium
Diane graduated from the University of Michigan in 2016 with dual degrees including a Master of Science in Genetic Counseling and Master of Public Health in Health Behavior and Health Education. During her time here as a student, she received a Jane Engelberg Memorial Fellowship (JEMF) Student Award in 2015. She was subsequently awarded the JEMF Student Manuscript Award in 2018 for her graduate thesis, Utilization of Genetic Counseling after Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing: Findings from the Impact of Personal Genomics (PGen) Study.
Since graduating, Diane has worked as a clinical and research genetic counselor with the Cancer Genetics and Prevention team at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. She currently serves as the lead genetic counselor for several research studies including INHERIT (INvestigating HEreditary RIsk in Thoracic cancers), which aims to better understand the role of germline EGFR variants in hereditary lung cancer; PROACTIVE (PROfile And Cancer gene Testing for IndiVidual Evaluation), a Dana-Farber institute-wide study that offers panel testing, whole genome and whole transcriptome sequencing for participants with a personal and/or family history of cancer; and Landscape Analysis and Implementation of Cancer Genetic Testing in Rwanda, a pilot study of genetic counseling and cancer gene panel testing for participants with breast or prostate cancer in Rwanda. Diane also serves as a clinical supervisor and research mentor to students from various genetic counseling programs.
Diane is also a passionate advocate for healthcare equity for members of the transgender and gender diverse (TGD) communities. To that end, she has been actively involved in educating providers, organizations, and graduate students on making clinical and research practices more equitable to TGD patients. Particularly, she has advocated for cancer risk awareness and prevention in these communities and her team has also published extensive literature on this critical subject. She is also a co-founder and co-chair of the NSGC Cancer SIG gender-inclusive subcommittee.
Diane’s expertise will serve to provide valuable insight and inspiration to current UMGCP students. We look forward to welcoming Diane back to campus later this fall. More details regarding her talk will follow.
Congratulations Diane!