CSUN, USC to Hold Genetics Conference

In a glimpse of what lies ahead, Cal State Northridge and USC will sponsor a genetic counseling conference Friday on the Northridge campus.

The all-day conference will combine the resources of CSUN’s Genetic Counseling Program and USC’s Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. The two universities, one public and the other private, are developing a cancer-risk assessment program that will be offered to students nationwide, said Aida Metzenberg, director of CSUN’s Genetic Counseling Center.

“Students in the program would already have earned their degrees as genetic counselors, but this will train them to specialize in cancer-risk assessment,” said Metzenberg, who added that the schools hope to make the course available via the Internet and through videoconferencing.

“People from all over the country, not just this area, could take the course,” said Metzenberg. “This would allow them to get the training without having to take a year off work to come to this area.”

Administrators hope the program, which is still being developed, will enroll its first students sometime in 1998, Metzenberg said.

Friday’s conference will include presentations by USC faculty members and invited guests, including Dr. George Cunningham, chief of the state’s Genetic Diseases Branch, and June Peters, a genetic counselor with the National Institutes of Health.

Among the subjects to be explored are familial cancer, ethics, public health issues, hereditary breast and colon cancer, and preventing cancer in the 21st century.

The conference is intended primarily for genetic counselors but is open to the public. It is free, but reservations are required.

For information, call (818) 677-3355, fax (818) 677-2034, or send e-mail to [email protected]