Carly Peterson is the recipient of the 2022 ACMG Foundation Carolyn Mills Lovell Genetic Counselor Award. Ms. Peterson received the Lovell award for her platform presentation at the 2022 ACMG Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting, “Parenting Stress Raising Children with Sex Chromosome Aneuploidies: First Year of Life Results from the eXtraordinarY Babies Study.”
ACMG Foundation President Bruce R. Korf, MD, PhD, FACMG said, “We are delighted to recognize Carly Peterson as recipient of the 2022 ACMG Foundation Carolyn Mills Lovell Genetic Counselor Award. Her work on parenting stresses in raising child with sex chromosome aneuploidies is an exemplar of the wholistic approach to management of genetic conditions that is central to genetic counseling.”
Carly Peterson is a genetic counseling graduate student at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. She will graduate and earn her Master of Science degree in genetic counseling in May 2022. Carly is passionate about the field of in vitro fertilization and preimplantation genetic testing, as well as the specialties of prenatal and oncology genetic counseling. Her interests specifically lie in the psychosocial aspects of genetic counseling, and in providing support and resources for patients throughout the genetic testing process. In graduate school, Carly's research has focused on exploring the parenting stress of parents of infants with sex chromosome aneuploidies. She has conducted her research through the eXtraordinarY Kids Clinic at Children's Hospital Colorado, with data from the eXtraordinarY Babies Study. Carly presented her preliminary research at the annual eXtraordinarY Kids Clinic Research Symposium in July 2021.
Carly's interest in genetic counseling started with her involvement in several volunteer and work experiences. Carly graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in May 2020 with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical and biological engineering. In college, she worked as a peer advisor and found a passion for providing psychosocial support and resources, and empowering undergraduate students in their educational experience. Carly's interest in education stemmed from her experience as an Engineering Fellow, in which she conducted tutoring and large-group review sessions for students in undergraduate engineering courses. Throughout her undergraduate career, Carly volunteered with her local Adaptive Swim Program, and developed a passion for working with individuals with disabilities. Carly is now able to bridge her interests in advocacy, education, and counseling through her graduate work in genetic counseling.
Upon receiving the award, Ms. Peterson said, “I am incredibly honored and grateful to receive the 2022 Carolyn Mills Lovell Genetic Counselor Award. This research would not have been possible without the insightful contributions and support of my research team: Talia Thompson, PhD, Nicole Tartaglia, MD, Shanlee Davis, MD, and Susan Howell, MBA, MS, CGC. Thank you to the ACMG Foundation for selecting our abstract to receive this award.”
The Carolyn Mills Lovell Award was made possible by a generous donation from former ACMG medical director David Flannery, MD, FAAP, FACMG to honor Carolyn Mills Lovell, MAT, MS, CGC, a genetic counselor who continues to provide exemplary service and care to patients and their families at Augusta University, previously known as the Medical College of Georgia (MCG). Dr. Flannery worked with Carolyn Mills Lovell for more than 15 years while he was at MCG. Through this award he also wanted to recognize the contributions and accomplishments of all genetic counselors.
The award includes a cash prize of $1,000 and will be presented annually through 2024. The recipient is chosen based on the highest rated abstract submitted by a genetic counselor to the ACMG Annual Meeting.
“Congratulations to Carly Peterson as the recipient of this year’s award, for the highest scoring abstract by a genetic counselor. This year’s award is especially unique, as Ms. Peterson is still a genetic counseling student. I am sure that this is just the first of many accomplishments in her career,” said David Flannery, MD, FAAP, FACMG. “I established this award to honor Carolyn Mills Lovell, MAT, MS, CGC, who was an exemplary genetic counselor. It was created to recognize the important contributions of genetic counselors to patient care and to research in the field of medical genetics. Their research demonstrates the important role genetic counselors play in clinical research in medical genetics and improving delivery of genetic services.”
About the ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine
The ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is a community of supporters and contributors who understand the importance of medical genetics and genomics in healthcare. Established in 1992, the ACMG Foundation supports the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) mission to “translate genes into health.” Through its work, the ACMG Foundation fosters charitable giving, promotes training opportunities to attract future medical geneticists and genetic counselors to the field, shares information about medical genetics and genomics, and sponsors important research. To learn more and support the ACMG Foundation mission to create “Better Health through Genetics” visit www.acmgfoundation.org.
Note to editors: To arrange interviews with experts in medical genetics, contact ACMG Senior Director of Communications and Public Relations, Kathy Moran, MBA at kmoran@acmg.net.