Shannan M. Dixon, Ms, Cgc

Biography

As the Director of the Master’s in Genetic Counseling Training Program, I possess the unique skill set of a mastery of genetics, communication, and risk assessment awareness. I am responsible for the education of genetic counselor trainees as well as continuing the educational support for novice and advanced skills genetic counselors. These skills are necessary and will be vital in the proposed project as we develop innovative teaching and training strategies. 1998-2001 Prenatal Genetic Counselor, Genzyme Genetics, Philadelphia, PA 2001-2004 Pediatric Genetic Counselor, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA 2001-2004 Coordinator, Newborn Screening Program, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA 2004-present Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 2004-present Director of the Genetic Counseling Training Program, University of Maryland, School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 2004-present Pediatric Genetic Counselor, University of Maryland Medical System 2004-2007 Newborn Screening Coordinator, University of Maryland Medical System 2004-2016 Cancer Genetic Counselor, Lifebridge Health, Baltimore, MD 2005-2008 Adult Genetic Counselor, University of Maryland Medical System

Research Interest

My role as director of the Master’s in Genetic Counseling (MGC) Training Program charges me with the development of a strong research foundation for each cohort of GC trainees. As a result, I am actively involved in the development and study of each graduating class of GCs research projects (6-8 per year). These projects are presented at national meetings (i.e. National Society of Genetic Counselors Annual Education Conference). For the last five years, I have worked with a team to develop a pilot model of a mobile transition navigation application. The pilot project, initially funded by NYMAC identified steps in medical transition and barriers to the medical transition process. It also resulted in the development of a dataset that helped categorize care providers and provide patient level explanations for the steps involved in medical transition. Following the creation of the pilot application, a second mobile transition navigation application was created (MTNA). From this, a fully functioning prototype of the app was developed and underwent three phases of usability testing.