Genetic Counseling Program Receives Accreditation

The two-year Master of Science program, which will be administered by the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences’ Office of Biomedical Education, will prepare students to become board-certified genetic counselors, who help patients understand genetic risks and guide decision-making.

The program has also already received approvals from SUNY and the New York State Education Department, clearing the way for its launch. With the program’s start in the fall of 2026, UB will be the first public university in New York State to offer a master’s in genetic counseling.

Applications to UB’s genetic counseling program will open this summer and run through Dec. 15. More information on the genetic counseling master’s program can be found at medicine.buffalo.edu/education/genetic-counseling. 

Genetic counselors don’t directly diagnose conditions or prescribe therapies. They instead offer guidance and information about inherited diseases that may affect patients and their families, says Lindsey M. Alico, MS, CGC, director of UB’s Genetic Counseling Graduate Program.

Genetic counselors help patients and providers understand the clinical implications of complex genetic test results in order to make more informed health care decisions. Couples trying to conceive or expecting a child, perhaps following an abnormal carrier screening test or ultrasound, could see a genetic counselor, Alico says. Patients may also be referred to a genetic counselor to determine if a recently diagnosed disease has a genetic component.

“Sometimes we see someone who’s already been diagnosed with cancer and has an unusual feature, like a rare type of cancer or diagnosis at a young age and they want to know the chance that it was due to a hereditary cause,” says Alico, who’s also a clinical assistant professor in the Jacobs School’s Office of Biomedical Education.

Most health care providers have received little genetics training while in school and would benefit from more support in genetic-related care, Alico says. While telehealth has improved access to genetic counselors, there’s demand for more counselors both locally and nationally. Genetic counselors can also help lessen the psychological impact of genetic test results, she adds.   

Genetic counselors further offer time and expertise. “A genetic counselor spends time with patients, time that physicians and other health care providers do not have,” says Jennifer A. Surtees, PhD, professor of biochemistry.

The idea for creating a genetic counseling degree program coincided with the 2015 launch of UB’s Genome, Environment and Microbiome Community of Excellence, or GEM, which promotes genetics, genomics and microbiome research and outreach to advance understanding of personal health issues. Surtees is GEM’s co-director and spearheaded the effort, shepherding the program through its curricular development and early approvals.

In designing the program, Surtees worked closely with Carolyn Farrell, PhD, MS, CGC, who directed the Clinical Genetics Service at Roswell Park Cancer Institute for over 15 years, and with Norma J. Nowak, PhD, professor of biochemistry and co-director of GEM.

Throughout the lengthy process of developing curriculum, obtaining approvals, and securing funding for the new program, Surtees says that it was key to involve faculty from many schools — including medicine, nursing, public health, pharmacy, law, social work, education, and arts and sciences — to garner their perspectives on genetics. 

“UB has this breadth of capacity. So we really wanted to take advantage of that expertise and knowledge from across campus,” says Surtees, who’s also associate dean for undergraduate education and STEM outreach in the Jacobs School.

Surtees adds that the launch of the new genetic counseling program is a return to the region’s historical contributions to genetic and genomic research, noting UB researchers’ involvement with the Human Genome Project and achievements in neo-natal testing for PKU and for sickle cell anemia.    

Ultimately, UB’s genetic counseling program couldn’t be accredited without first having a program director in place. Alico, a board-certified genetic counselor and Western New York native, was therefore recruited and joined UB in 2023 from Sarah Lawrence College, where she previously co-directed its genetic counseling program, the nation’s oldest and largest.

Soon after Alico joined, Laurie S. Sadler, MD, FACMG, clinical associate professor of pediatrics and a clinical geneticist in Buffalo for over 30 years, became the UB program’s first medical director.

Accreditation involved extensive review of the program’s personnel, institutional resources, evaluation processes, and instructional research and fieldwork plans. This spring, the submitted New Program Application for Accreditation was approved.

Emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches within the genetic counseling curriculum underscores the varied roles counselors are expected to fulfill. Surtees notes that genetic counselors, for example, must understand legal implications of handling delicate information. They also act as educators, teaching patients and providers about genetics and how to integrate laboratory results with clinical information.

Genetic counseling further requires deep understanding of ethics, as the process often reveals sensitive information about family histories, health concerns, and personal values, Alico says.

But the practice of genetic counseling is rooted in patient autonomy, Alico adds. “Genetic counselors are experts in communication and help facilitate decision-making. We don’t tell people what they must do,” she says.

Ethics will be emphasized and studied throughout the UB genetic counseling program, Surtees says, as opposed to being limited to a standalone course. In addition to genetics and genomics expertise, the curriculum will focus on specialized communication and counseling that’s culturally and socially sensitive.  

Students in the genetic counseling master’s program will complete 61 credits from classes taken over 21 months. As prerequisites, applicants must have taken courses in biology, biochemistry, genetics, statistics, and psychology, Alico says. “The majority of people who apply to genetic counseling programs are either still in undergrad or a year or two out,” Alico adds. “But we’ve definitely had some career changers. We’ve also had people who are nurses, PAs, MDs, who want additional expertise.”

Similar to medical students entering residency training, applicants to genetic counseling programs must undergo a matching process. “If someone wants to apply to our program, they first have to register for the Genetic Counseling Admissions Match,” Alico says.

Overseen by the Genetic Counselor Educators Association, the match occurs each April. Interviews will occur during the spring semester, with the first student cohort beginning classes in fall 2026. UB’s program will enroll four students initially, Alico says, but will expand to include six students per class.

In addition to completing a master’s thesis, students in the program must complete clinical rotations with certified genetic counselors. While local hospitals and providers such as Oishei Children’s Hospital, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, and UBMD Physicians’ Group employ genetic counselors, there aren’t enough of them.

“I keep a list because that’s how few there are. It’s possible to know them all,” Alico says, noting that the scarcity of counselors demonstrates the program’s need.

Surtees and Alico acknowledge the local genetic counselors’ commitment to the development of the master’s program and to supervising and teaching students. “They’ve already been helping to increase the genetics knowledge of our medical community,” Surtees says. “And now they’ll get more formal recognition because of the genetic counseling program.”

Program graduates will be able to sit for the American Board of Genetic Counseling certification exam to become a Certified Genetic Counselor, a required credential to practice in most areas.

In New York State, Alico notes that genetic counselors do not have licensure and therefore cannot operate independently; they must be embedded within an existing hospital or practice. Thirty-five other U.S. states, however, issue licenses for genetic counselors, Alico says.
 
Launching the genetic counseling master’s program will boost awareness of genetic counseling and ultimately offer the service more widely to the community. The program hopes to train genetic counselors who will then stay in Western New York.

“All patients in Western New York should have access to the health benefits of genetic and genomic medicine,” Alico says.