Specialists And Care Centers

Specialists And Care Centers

Genetics Counselors

To schedule an appointment, please call 312.472.4151.

What is a genetic counselor?
Genetic counselors are master’s degree-trained heath care providers, who are experts in the field of genetics. The genetic counselors in the Division of Clinical Genetics are licensed by the State of Illinois and are board certified/eligible by the American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC). The role of the genetic counselor is to help you understand various genetic conditions and the risk of them occurring in a current or future pregnancy.  Our genetic counselors specialize in reproductive genetics and will answer all of your questions about fetal risk for birth defects, chromosome abnormalities and genetic conditions, as well as current screening and diagnostic testing options. Genetic counselors are specifically trained to explain risks and test results in understandable terms and to help you make informed family planning and pregnancy management decisions. Our genetic counselors excel in providing the highest quality genetic counseling available.

Katie Abihider, MS, CGC
Katie Abihider is an ancillary faculty member of the Northwestern Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling. She received her master’s degree in genetic counseling from Northwestern University in 2019 and was certified by the ABGC in 2019. She started her career with the Northwestern Medicine Clinical Genetics Program where she provides both prenatal and preconception genetic counseling for a variety of indications, as well as risk assessment and genetic counseling for hereditary cancer syndromes. Her clinical interests include cytogenetics, the impact of genetic testing on breast cancer screening guidelines, and psychosocial impacts of prenatal diagnosis.

Hayley Cassingham, MS, CGC
Hayley Cassingham is a faculty member at the Northwestern University Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling. Hayley completed her undergraduate degree in genetics and Spanish in 2014 at Ohio Wesleyan University. In 2017, she earned her master’s degree in Genetic Counseling from The Ohio State University as well as a board certification from the American Board of Genetic Counseling. Hayley joined the Northwestern Medicine Cancer Genetics team in 2022.

Aymara Clarke, MS, CGC
Aymara Clarke is an ancillary faculty member at the Northwestern University Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling. She earned her Master’s degree in Genetic Counseling from Northwestern University in 2022. Aymara joined the Northwestern Cancer Genetics team later that same year, where she provides comprehensive risk assessment, genetic counseling, and follow-up care to patients and their families affected by a variety of hereditary cancer syndromes. Her clinical interests include the psychosocial impacts of a hereditary cancer syndrome diagnosis, and decision-making surrounding cancer genetics.

Melissa Damrongvachiraphan, MS, CGC
Melissa Damrongvachiraphan is an instructor in the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. In 2014, she received her master’s degree from the Northwestern University Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling and was certified by the American Board of Genetic Counseling. Melissa provides comprehensive prenatal and preconception genetic counseling for a variety of indications.

Her clinical interests include expanded carrier screening, the psychosocial aspects of coping with a prenatal diagnosis, and the supervision of genetic counseling students.

Brittany DeGreef, MS
Brittany DeGreef is an Instructor in the Feinberg School of Medicine. She received her master’s degree in Genetic Counseling from Northwestern University in 2016. She started her career with the Northwestern Cancer Genetics Program where she provides comprehensive genetic counseling services  and coordination of medical management for patients and families impacted by a variety of hereditary cancer indications. Her clinical interests include the psychosocial implications surrounding cancer genetics and she also contributes to clinical research studies in cancer genetics.

Megan Hinton, MS, CGC
Megan Hinton is an Assistant Professor in the Feinberg School of Medicine. She received her master’s degree from the Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling at Northwestern University in 2000 and was certified by the ABGC in 2002. She started her career in genetic counseling at the Fetal Diagnostic Center of Evanston Hospital and the Evanston Health Department, and has been at Northwestern since 2001. At Northwestern, Megan provides comprehensive prenatal and preconception genetic counseling for a variety of indications. Megan’s clinical interests include fetal ultrasound anomalies and familial chromosome rearrangements. She also contributes to clinical research studies in reproductive genetics.

Zameena Lakhani, MS, CGC
Zameena M. Lakhani, MS, CGC, is a preconception genetic counselor in the Northwestern Medicine Center for Fertility and Reproductive Medicine and an instructor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Division of Clinical Genetics. After she earned her master’s degree in genetic counseling from Northwestern University in 2021, Zameena joined the Northwestern Medicine Clinical Genetics team with a focus on patients with infertility, recurrent pregnancy loss and identified pre-conception risk for genetic disorders.

Zameena is an active member of several genetics professional organizations, and she is part of the leadership for the Assistive Reproductive Technology/Infertility Special Interest Group for the National Society of Genetic Counseling. She is also a faculty member with Northwestern University’s Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling at the Center for Genetic Medicine where she teaches and provides clinical supervision for students in the program.

Min Seon Park, MS, CGC
Min Seon Park is an instructor in the Feinberg School of Medicine. She received her master’s degree in genetic counseling from Northwestern University in 2018 and was certified by the ABGC in 2018. She started her career with the Northwestern Cancer Genetics Program where she provides hereditary cancer risk assessment and counseling, as well as coordination of medical management for patients and families impacted by a variety of hereditary cancer indications. Her clinical interests include decision-making and the psychosocial implications surrounding cancer genetics.

Theresa Sciaraffa, MS, CGC
Theresa Sciaraffa is an instructor in the Feinberg School of Medicine. A native of Chicago, she completed a bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology, with minors in Bioethics and Spanish Language and Literature, from Loyola University Chicago in 2013. She earned her master’s degree in Genetic Counseling from Northwestern University in 2017, and she was certified by the ABGC later that same year. Theresa joined the Northwestern Cancer Genetics team in 2017, providing comprehensive cancer risk assessment and genetic counseling for individuals and families affected by hereditary cancer syndromes. While working in Cancer Genetics, Theresa is pursuing a master’s degree in Medical Humanities and Bioethics at Northwestern University. Her master’s thesis is centered on the psychosocial issues experienced by women with a personal and/or family history of breast cancer.

Eve M. Simi, CGC
Eve Simi is an instructor of obstetrics and gynecology and core faculty member of the Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She received her Master of Science degree in genetic counseling at Northwestern University in 1999 and was certified by the American Board of Genetic Counseling in 2002. She started her career in genetic counseling at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County and then proceeded to NorthShore University HealthSystem and Insight Medical Genetics before joining Northwestern Medicine in 2022. She has extensive experience in the area of prenatal and preconception genetic counseling and a special interest in fetal ultrasound anomalies.

Brittany Szymaniak, PhD, CGC
Brittany Szymaniak is an instructor in the Feinberg School of Medicine. She received her PhD in Genetics from the University of Rochester in 2016 and her master’s degree in Genetic Counseling from Northwestern University in 2018. Her doctoral work focused on better understanding the consequences of loss of ATM on glial precursor cell biology in the neurodegenerative condition, Ataxia-telangiectasia. Brittany currently works in the Urology department at Northwestern, where she provides comprehensive risk assessment, genetic counseling, and follow-up care for individuals with prostate and gastrointestinal cancers.

Sarah Walterman, MS, CGC
Sarah Walterman is an instructor in the Feinberg School of Medicine. She received her master’s degree in medical genetics from the Genetic Counseling Graduate Program of the University of Cincinnati in 2014 and was certified by the American Board of Genetic Counseling in 2015. Sarah joined Northwestern Reproductive Genetics in 2018. Her clinical interests include fetal ultrasound abnormalities and the psychosocial aspects of coping with a prenatal diagnosis.