Suzanne O’Neill, MS, PhD, CGC

Associate Director, Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling
Assistant Professor of Medicine and the Center for Genetic Medicine
Feinberg School of Medicine

Faculty Biography:
Suzanne O’Neill received a bachelor of science degree in biology and a master's degree in liberal studies (with an emphasis in genetics) from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. After working for over 20 years at Stony Brook in a variety of positions in research, teaching and administration, she completed genetic counseling training at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, receiving a master's degree in genetic counseling in 1998 and certification by the ABGC in 1999. While working as a cancer genetic counselor at UPMC/Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh, she continued her studies at the University of Pittsburgh, and received a PhD in Human Genetics in 2001. Her dissertation research focused on development and use of a computerized method to perform breast cancer genetic risk assessment.

Dr. O’Neill was clinical researcher and genetic counselor at the Center for Medical Genetics at NorthShore University HealthSystem for six years, where she developed MyGenerations, an online cancer family history and risk assessment tool for the public. She was also a principal investigator in the Centers for Disease Control Family Healthware Trial and remains active in their Family History Initiative. Other research interests include understanding the psychological aspects of risk assessment and provision.

Dr. O’Neill is active in mentoring the research of genetic counseling students, co-teaches the research seminar, and provides a variety of lectures on quantitative genetics, risk assessment and risk communication. Her keen interest in educating and training students led her to assume the role of associate director of the program in 2008.