Leadership Profiles

Angela M. Trepanier
Current President

Angela M. Trepanier, Co-Director of the Wayne State University Genetic Counseling Graduate Program and Assistant Professor of Molecular Medicine and Genetics, has been elected the 2008 President of the National Society of Genetic Counselors.

As President of NSGC, Trepanier is responsible for leading the association and serving as the chief spokesperson. She has 14 years of clinical experience primarily in cancer, adult, and prenatal genetic counseling. Her research interests include cancer genetics practice models, patient satisfaction with genetic counseling, and the natural history of Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease. She can also comment on issues related to genetic counselor training, board certification, licensure, oversight of genetic testing, and the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA).

Trepanier is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Genetic Counseling Program in Minneapolis/St. Paul and is certified in genetic counseling by the American Board of Genetic Counseling. Her career began in 1994 at the University of South Carolina (USC) in Columbia where she provided prenatal genetic counseling, helped develop the cancer genetic counseling service, and taught, supervised and mentored students in the USC genetic counseling graduate program. Angela then joined the Division of Medical Genetics at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. While at Emory she provided prenatal and cancer genetic counseling services, served as a liaison to the Emory DNA Diagnostics Laboratory, and was a project manager for the Cancer Genetics Network Registry. In 2001, Trepanier moved back to her home state of Michigan to serve first as Associate Director and then Co-Director of the Genetic Counseling Program at Wayne State University. In addition to her program responsibilities, she coordinates the clinical component of a research study on Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease, provides education in medical genetics to a wide variety of professional, student and lay audiences, conducts research, and provides cancer genetic counseling services on an interim basis.

Trepanier has been a member of NSGC since 1993, has chaired the Audrey Heimler Special Projects Fund Committee, served on the NSGC Board of Directors as Region III representative, Communications Committee Chair, and Secretary, and participated in several other NSGC committees, task forces, and special interest groups. She is also very involved in state activities including being a founding board member of the Michigan Association of Genetic Counselors (2006-2007), a member of the Association’s licensure subcommittee, and a member of the March of Dimes Michigan Chapter Public Affairs Committee.

Trepanier has spoken on topics related to cancer genetic counseling, risk assessment, family history, careers in genetics, and the experience of having a relative with a genetic condition. She has published articles on cancer genetics and Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease.

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