UB’s Proposed Genetic Counseling Degree Program Moves Closer to Accreditation

By Ellen Goldbaum

Approved by the New York State Education Department and SUNY, UB’s program is pursuing accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling (ACGC), the national accrediting body.

The ACGC recently approved UB’s Application for Candidacy, a key step on the way to becoming accredited. Approval indicates that the UB program’s leadership structure, proposed fieldwork plan, and institutional resources meet ACGC standards for providing a master’s degree in genetic counseling.

The next step is a New Program Application for Accreditation, due Jan. 15, 2025. If the program is accredited next spring, students will be able to start applying in August 2025 for an August 2026 start.

“Although this may seem far away, our prospective students are currently juniors and seniors and would want to complete prerequisite courses in 2025,” explains Lindsey M. Alico, clinical assistant professor and director of UB’s genetic counseling graduate program. “In addition to basic science courses, prospective applicants should take genetics and psychology.”

Alico is a board-certified genetic counselor and a Western New York native who, until 2023, was co-director of the genetic counseling program at Sarah Lawrence College, the nation’s oldest and largest in the field.

She returned to Western New York last year to implement and direct the genetic counseling program at UB. A graduate of Orchard Park High School, she first became interested in genetic counseling as a career when she heard about it from one of her high school teachers.

Genetic counselors are increasingly important members of the health care team, Alico explains. They don’t directly diagnose or prescribe; instead, as experts in genetics and genomics, they provide patients with information and guidance about inherited diseases that may affect them and their families. They help patients and providers understand the clinical implications of complex genetic and genomic test results, so that patients can make the most informed health care decisions.

Patients who have received a disease diagnosis may be referred to a genetic counselor to determine if there may be a genetic component to it; couples that are expecting a child or are trying to conceive may also see genetic counselors.

Both Medicaid and Medicare will reimburse for genetic services when a patient is at risk for a hereditary disease or condition.

“We are trained to help our patients with decision-making,” says Alico. “Our goal is to evaluate and communicate genetic risk information so they can decide how best to proceed.”

In addition to pursuing accreditation, she adds, the UB Genetic Counseling Graduate Program has a broader strategy of increasing access to and awareness of clinical genetic counseling services in WNY by educating health care providers in training and participating in community outreach events. Alico adds that the profession is also advocating for genetic counselors to be licensed in New York State and for payers to recognize genetic counselors as providers.