May 06th, 2011
Ginger Edwardsen, who will graduate on May 14th with a Master of Genetics degree, has been awarded the Graduate Student Teaching Award of Merit from the North American Colleges of Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA). This award is presented annually to one graduate student in the life sciences and one in agricultural sciences from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences who demonstrate outstanding teaching ability and commitment. Ginger was a teaching assistant for GN 311 (Principles of Genetics) for the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 academic years.
After graduation with a Master of Genetics, Ginger will enter the University of South Carolina Genetic Counseling Program in Columbia, SC. The USC Genetic Counseling Program is highly selective, admitting only 6-8 applicants each year from over 100 applicants. Genetic counselors are involved with a wide range of clinical activities focused on genetics to support more informed patients. This includes 1) Interpreting family and medical histories to assess the chance of disease occurrence or recurrence; 2) Educating patients about disease inheritance, testing, management, prevention, resources and research; 3) Counseling patients to promote informed choices and adaptation to disease risk or conditions; and 4) Functioning as a genetic resource for physicians.
