What would you do if you had millions of dollars in funding to transform the future of genetic counseling? Few in our field have successfully taken on that challenge, and Dr. Kathleen Valverde is one of them; she has secured two groundbreaking grants totaling almost $20 MILLION. We sat down with her in-person for this episode to hear her advice on acquiring grant funding and the profound impact it can have on advancing our profession. 

Kathleen Valverde, PhD, MS, LCGC is an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and one of the most influential leaders in genetic counseling education. She is the principal investigator of two major Warren Alpert Foundation grants — the Alliance for Genetic Counseling (AID-GC) and the Career Ladder Education Program for Genetic Counselors (CLEP-GC) — totaling nearly $20 million to expand diversity, access, and research training in the field. 

Across her 40-year career, she has trained nearly 400 genetic counselors, served in key leadership roles for national organizations including ACGC, and helped establish genetic counseling licensure in Pennsylvania. A BRCA-positive family member herself, Dr. Valverde brings both professional expertise and lived experience to her mission of strengthening the genetic counseling workforce and advancing patient care.

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#136 Linda Robinson on the History of Genetic Counseling

#234 Genetic Counseling History: 1st NSGC Conference 

#235 Genetic Counseling History: ABGC Formation

#244 Genetic Counseling History: The 70s

#319 New CPT Code 96041 Explained: 2025 Billing for Genetic Counselors

#361 The Economics of Genetic Counseling: Policy, Industry & Career Advice (with Ellen Matloff)

Get ready, genetic nerds, another brand-new episode of DNA Today drops this Friday! While you wait, why not dive into our backlog of over 365 episodes? Binge them all on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or wherever you love to listen—just search “DNA Today.”

Prefer watching? We’ve got you covered! For the past four years, we’ve been recording episodes with video, including some filmed at the iconic NBC Universal Stamford Studios. Check them out on our YouTube channel! 

DNA Today is hosted and produced by Kira Dineen, MS, LCGC, CG(ASCP)CM . Our Video Lead is Amanda Andreoli. Our Social Media Lead Liv Davidson. And our logo Graphic Designer is Ashlyn Enokian, MS, CGC. 

See what else we are up to on Instagram, X (Twitter), BluSky, Threads, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and our website, DNAToday.com. Questions/inquiries can be sent to [email protected].