Psychiatric Genomics: Risks, Methods, and Convergence with Rare Disorders with Rebecca Signer, MS, CGC

• In this webinar, we will summarize the current understanding of the transdiagnostic risks and genomic underpinnings across psychiatric disorders and how those estimates are obtained. We will review the ways in which we study common, psychiatric diseases including the genome-wide association study and outline numerous considerations when interpreting a GWAS, including trait definition, ancestry, predictive power, and sequencing platforms. We will review post-GWAS approaches including functional genomics methods such as expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) mapping and potential clinical applications of polygenic risk scores. We end with examples from Dr. Signer’s research where rare loci and common genomic regions implicated in eating disorders converge. 

  Level of instruction: Intermediate 

  

  Only the live session qualifies for CEUs but when possible, we host the recordings on our website and NSGC recommends participants to use their personal email instead of work email addresses to ensure they receive their CEU certificates.

  

  Ambry Genetics is approved as a provider for continuing education program by NSGC and ASCLS P.A.C.E ® Program.

Rebecca Signer, MS, CGC | Presenter

Doctoral Candidate at Department of Genetic and Genomic Sciences at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai 

Rebecca recently defended her PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in the laboratory of Laura Huckins, where she studied the genomics of psychiatric and metabolic disorders with an emphasis on eating disorders, genome-wide association studies, and the functional capacity of common variants. Prior to her PhD, Rebecca worked as a clinical and research genetic counselor at UCLA in both the general genetics clinic and the Undiagnosed Diseases Network research study. Rebecca pursued a PhD because of her clinical experiences with chronic pain and chronic fatigue syndromes and she is passionate about improving the availability of genetic counseling and testing for people with common diseases. Rebecca plans to pursue a Postdoc at Yale University, where the Huckins lab is now located. Also, fun fact- Rebecca grew up in Southern California and interned at Ambry one summer in 2015 in genetic counseling school - She had a great time, met smart people, and loved the smoothie bar.

Jessica Scott, MGC, CGC | Moderator

Genomic Science Liaison II at Ambry Genetics

Jessica Scott, MGC, CGC is an oncology Genomic Science Liaison at Ambry Genetics. Jessica obtained her undergraduate degree in Biology from Radford University and graduated from the University of Maryland Master’s in Genetic Counseling (MGC) Training Program in 2005. She practiced clinically in the Baltimore area in various genetic counseling subspecialties for over fifteen years with a consistent focus on oncology genetics before joining Ambry.  Jessica has an interest in the continued education of genetic counselors; she remains actively engaged in the University of Maryland genetic counseling training program, is a coordinator of Ambry’s Case Café webinar series, and is the Chair for the Maryland and DC Society of Genetic Counselors’ (MDCGC) State Meeting and Education committee.