Sophie Byers recently completed a postbac in the NIAID Centralized Sequencing Program, an initiative that provides a range of genomic services to patients participating in human subjects research studies at NIAID and other NIH institutes and centers. Read about how her unique postbac experience shaped her decision to pursue a career in genetic counseling.
Over the past two years, I worked on a clinical genetics team as part of the NIAID Centralized Sequencing Program under the guidance of Morgan Similuk, Sc.M., and Magdalena Walkiewicz, Ph.D. The program offers whole genome sequencing for patients enrolled in NIH clinical protocols across all NIH institutes upon referral from their clinical teams. Our team initially worked solely with immunodeficiencies within NIAID but eventually expanded to include the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Cancer Institute, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. We saw many wonderful patients with a myriad of phenotypes, diagnoses, and backgrounds.
As I reflect on my postbac experience, the most valuable experience for me was certainly shadowing our amazing genetic counselors. All patients who came to us received pre-sequence counseling as well as post-sequence counseling if there were any findings to report back. Hearing from patients directly about their life experiences and observing how our counselors listened and guided them on next steps was truly invaluable. I learned that some results were more helpful and tangible than others, but most informed actionable steps that a patient can take, such as undergoing annual screening for cancer. I appreciated how we were able to make a difference in people’s lives in a very meaningful way, and it felt especially pertinent when I had the opportunity to shadow these conversations firsthand.
I also enjoyed—more than I expected—the research aspect of genetics. I was fortunate to present an abstract and poster at the 2023 National Society of Genetic Counselors Annual Conference and loved being able to talk about my team and NIH on such a broad scale. My poster highlighted the potential utility of receiving a polygenic risk score for a cohort of patients from the National Institute of Mental Health. Even more exciting, I am currently working on a manuscript about the implementation of the American College of Medical Genetics’ list of secondary findings—genes reported back to patients with medical actionability—and hope to send it out for publishing this summer!
Within NIH and NIAID, I found that my most helpful resources were graduate students workshops that covered writing personal statements and preparing for interviews. I also took advantage of career panels (particularly the genetic counseling panel) and one-on-ones with NIAID Postbac Program Coordinator Jennifer West, Ph.D., including a mock interview session. Planning for graduate school was stressful, but it helped to have access to a lot of resources and people who wanted to help me along the way.
I recently matched with Sarah Lawrence College for a two-year master’s program in human genetics and plan to become a genetic counselor. I could not have dreamed of reaching this milestone without the help of my amazing mentors, principal investigators, and team. I witnessed firsthand a great deal of patient interaction, genomic analysis performed by our talented molecular geneticists, and all the behind-the-scenes steps that transform a patient’s DNA sample into a finalized, printed report. I feel incredibly fortunate to have a massive step-up as I enter graduate school thanks to the comprehensive experience I gained during my postbac. I look forward to taking all that I have learned from the past two years and utilizing it in the next two (and beyond).
Learn more about postbaccalaureate training opportunities at NIAID.