Peter J. Hulick, M.D., MMSc
Peter J. Hulick is the Interim Head and a medical geneticist at the NorthShore University HealthSystem Center for Medical Genetics and an Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.
Dr. Hulick completed his clinical medical genetics residency at Harvard Medical School where his clinical concentrations included connective tissue diseases such as Marfan syndrome and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome while also maintaining a general genetics clinic.
His research during his Harvard genetics training consisted of identifying potential biomarkers of kidney cancer through gene expression profiling of tumor cell lines and the development of a clinical assay to detect kidney cancer at an early stage. He also studied the biological function of the folliculin gene product which, when mutated, causes the kidney cancer predisposition syndrome Birt-Hogg-Dube. During his medical genetics residency, he graduated with a masters in medical science degree from the Harvard Medical Scholars in Clinical Science program which trains individuals for careers in clinical research.
Dr. Hulick received his undergraduate degree in biology from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL and his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College, in Philadelphia, PA. He completed an internal medicine residency at Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL before pursuing his clinical medical genetics training in Boston. Dr. Hulick is board certified in Internal Medicine and Clinical Genetics.
His clinical interests, in addition to general genetic syndromes, include connective tissue disease, cardiovascular, and kidney cancer genetics.
Henry T. Lynch, M.D.
Henry T. Lynch is the Medical Advisor of the NorthShore Center for Medical Genetics.
He is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine, Professor of Medicine, and the Director of the Creighton Cancer Center at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. Dr. Lynch earned his M.D. at the University of Texas and trained in the internal medicine residency program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Regarded by many as the father of cancer genetics, Dr. Lynch spent the majority of his career researching the hereditary basis of cancer and has published over 600 articles. He was the first to bring Hereditary Non-Polyposis Colorectal Cancer syndrome to general attention; the syndrome also bears his name as Lynch Syndrome. He has won numerous awards including the American Cancer Society Distinguished Service Award in 1992, the Sixth AACR (American Association for Cancer Research) American Cancer Society Award for Research Excellence in Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention in 1997, the American Cancer Society 1997 Medal of Honor Clinical Research Award, The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation 1998 Brinker International Award for Breast Cancer Clinical Research, the 2000 American Cancer Society Lecture Award given by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the Lifetime Achievement Award in Inherited Pancreatic Diseases awarded by The International Association of Pancreatology in 2001. Dr. Lynch has traveled the world, spreading knowledge of hereditary cancer and stimulating research investigations, and has mentored a generation of physicians and scientists in this field.
Anna Newlin, MS, CGC
Anna Newlin, MS, CGC, is a board certified genetic counselor who earned her Master of Science degree in Human Genetics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor where she trained under the tutelage of several well known clinical and research geneticists, including Dr. Francis Collins, who currently heads the Human Genome Project. Anna has a broad base of clinical experience which includes prenatal as well as pediatric genetic counseling. Anna spent several years involved in clinical ophthalmic genetics which provided her with the unique opportunity to work with families with hereditary eye disorders. Her interests have shifted to providing risk assessment to adult patients, the majority of whom are referred for a personal or family history of cancer.
Christina Selkirk, MS
Christina Selkirk earned her Bachelors Degree from Skidmore College in 2001. She spent the next several years conducting research relevant to women’s reproductive health issues in an ovarian physiology lab under the direction of Dr. Teresa Woodruff at Northwestern University. In addition, Christina created and preserved genetically altered mouse lines used for research on various human diseases in the Transgenic Facilities of both the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Northwestern University.
Christina obtained her Master of Science degree in Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology, and Genetics from the University of Minnesota in August 2007. During graduate school she worked for the Minnesota Department of Health Newborn Screening Laboratory where she performed tests to identify infants with hemoglobinopathies and to screen for metabolic deficiencies. Her thesis research explored the genetics of autism spectrum disorders and parental perceptions of the causes of these disorders.
With research being her main interest, Christina joined the Center for Medical Genetics as a Study Coordinator to aid in the development, design, and implementation of various research studies underway at the Center for Medical Genetics. Currently, she is actively involved in the enrollment and oversight of the PROSE and IMPACT research studies.
Kristen Vogel, MS, CGC
Kristen Vogel received a Master of Science degree in Medical Genetics from the University of Pittsburgh Genetic Counseling Training Program in May of 2005. While in graduate school, Kristen worked with the Center for Minority Health where she helped to pioneer the Family Health History Initiative, a community outreach program that incorporates the use of pedigrees as risk assessment tools in the African American Community. After receiving her graduate training, Kristen worked at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Breast Medical Oncology, in their Clinical Cancer Genetics Program. Her primary focus was providing risk assessment and genetic counseling services to individuals with a personal or family history of breast cancer. She was also heavily involved with various research projects related to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome, as well as Li Fraumeni syndrome.
Kristen joined the Center for Medical Genetics in 2007 and provides risk assessment and genetic counseling to adults at risk for various adult-onset genetic conditions. She is also the research coordinator for the NorthShore Pancreatic Cancer Family Registry (PCFR). The goal of the PCFR is to investigate the genetic and molecular biological bases of familial pancreatic cancer, with the hope of improving prevention, screening, and treatment options for patients with both sporadic and familial pancreatic cancer.
Shelly Weiss, MS, CGC
Shelly Weiss graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 2007 with a B.S. in Brain, Behavior and Cognitive Science. She received a Master of Science degree from the Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling at Northwestern University in 2009. She has served as a summer intern for the Chicago Center for Jewish Genetic Disorders and is a current member of the Center’s Associate Board, in which she applies her knowledge of genetics and passion for activism to help plan events promoting education and awareness in the Chicago area. Shelly serves as resource for Be Bright Pink, an organization that provides support and education for women who are at high risk of breast and ovarian cancer.
Shelly joined the Center for Medical Genetics in 2009. Her clinical interests include providing risk assessment and genetic counseling for adult-onset conditions and working with pediatric patients alongside their families for a variety of indications.
Scott M. Weissman, MS, CGC
Scott Weissman graduated from the University of Illinois- Urbana/Champaign in 1998 with a B.S. in Biology. After graduation, he spent two years at the Molecular Oncology Diagnostic Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago developing expertise in molecular genetic techniques used in various hematologic and oncologic disorders. He completed the Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling at Northwestern University, receiving a Master of Science degree and became a Certified Genetic Counselor in 2002.
Scott joined the Center for Medical Genetics and has been counseling patients in a variety of adult onset genetic disorders; he acts as a liaison to the Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory at Evanston Hospital. He is an active faculty member at the Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling at Northwestern University as well as an Instructor of Clinical Medicine in the Feinberg School of Medicine of Northwestern University. Scott served as Co-Chair of the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) Familial Cancer Risk Counseling Special Interest Group from 2004-2006 and is currently the NSGC liaison to the Commission on Cancer.