Student Profile
Lizzie Dorfman
Lizzie Dorfman received her B.A. in Human Biology from Stanford University, where her studies focused on vulnerable populations in health care. As an undergraduate student, Lizzie completed internships at the Association of American Medical Colleges, the California Department of Health Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
After graduation Lizzie accepted an offer to work for Google, Inc., where for five years she was responsible for the development, implementation and enforcement of online advertising policies. Seeking a role that more directly aligned with her passion for the health sciences she left Google in 2008 and joined 23andMe, Inc., a direct-to-consumer genetics firm. As a research project manager at 23andMe, Lizzie was responsible for three concurrent studies of genetics and Parkinson's disease. While working there she recognized the potential for genetics and genomics to transform health care, as well as the many challenges -- institutional, operational, educational, and policy-related -- that could limit their ability to do so.
Lizzie entered the Institute for Public Health Genetics Ph.D. program to build upon her previous academic and professional experience and to enable her to more directly participate in the mainstreaming of genetics and genomics, both in and out of the clinic. Her primary research interests relate to the ethical, legal and social implications of genomic research and testing.
email: edorfman@uw.edu
Cyan James
Cyan James was born in the Mojave Desert in California, which taught her early on to appreciate rare forms of life. Once she encountered the logic and beauty of genetics and began to see genes as the language and code programming life, she was hooked. As she completed undergraduate studies in a self-designed BLS degree, she focused on genetics and bioethics as ways to explore the possibilities and implications of genetic knowledge. She worked initially in plant genetics,
moving eventually to consider ELSI concerns.
At the University of Michigan she completed an MFA in creative writing and began honing in on
the matrix where public communication, storytelling, science, and policy intersect. After
graduation she worked on for the Center for the History of Medicine at the University of
Michigan, researching the 1918-1919 Spanish influenza epidemic as well as enforced sterilization
in California mental institutions. Her next job allowed her to design computer-based tailored
wellness guides and health information instructed by health psychology principles for
HealthMedia under Johnson & Johnson. There she worked on a program directed at helping consumers
cope with depression, and was intrigued enough to pursue an academic interest in major
depressive disorder (MDD) and other mental illnesses through the University of Washington PHG
PhD program.
During her doctoral work she intends to address policy, ethics, legal and pharmacogenomic
elements pertaining to mental health. Her studies pull from the fields of psychiatry,
psychology, policy, international studies, and genetics. She is also interested in suicidology,
labor and sex trafficking, and medical ethics. She is preparing for a career in health policy,
ethics, and medical/science/health communication. Teaching and writing for the general public is
very important to her as a way to portray the concrete impact of public health policies on all
our lives.
email: cyanj@uw.edu
Mercy Laurino
Mercy Laurino completed a Masters of Science degree in Genetic Counseling from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center prior to entering the Institute for Public
Health Genetics PhD program. As a certified genetic counselor, Mercy provided genetic counseling to patients seen at the University of Washington Adult Medical Genetics Clinic
and at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance Breast and Ovarian Cancer and Gastrointestinal Cancer Prevention Programs. She has had the opportunity to be involved in several research
projects and is a co-author of the published practice guideline on the “Genetic Evaluation and Counseling of Couples with Recurrent Miscarriage: Recommendations of the National
Society of Genetic Counselors.” Her current collaboration with the medical geneticists in the Philippines to establish their advanced degree genetic counseling training program moves forward the commitment of integrating medical genetics into the general health services in every country. In her doctoral study, Mercy is eager to contribute and to further develop her knowledge on healthcare policy and public health theories in expanding the field of genetic counseling. Her research interests are on the ethical, legal, and social implications of genomics for global health.
email: mercy@uw.edu
Anjali Truitt
Prior to entering the University of Washington, Anjali Truitt worked in rehabilitation medicine, where she discovered that environmental and attitudinal barriers often prevent people with disabilities from accessing preventative healthcare services. This awareness led her to pursue
her Master of Public Health in Community Health Sciences from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Anjali worked on several research projects addressing a range of topics from obesity
prevention and the built environment to emergency preparedness. Through these experiences, Anjali began to recognize that the biomedical research paradigm and processes often overlook
sociocultural dimensions of disability, and she knew that she wanted her doctoral work to address the implications of disability for public health. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the
Institute for Public Health Genetics (IPHG), as well as its collaborations with the UW Disability Studies Program, Anjali entered the PhD program.
Broadly, Anjali is interested in exploring how political, social and cultural forces shape genetics research and clinical application of genomic technologies. The IPHG curriculum has helped Anjali
to think about how bioethics and health policy can inform public health practice. Because of this, she has become particularly interested in how health professionals communicate about the risks
and benefits of genetic testing to marginalized communities and how laws and policies represent the interests of these communities. Her doctoral work will address these research interests in the
context of prenatal testing.
email: artruitt@uw.edu
Note: This page features a profile of one current IPHG student. Student profiles will be rotated periodically. For student profiles published in the past, see Student Profile Archive.