Improving Genetic Counseling for BRCA+ Mothers

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Project Abstract The purpose of this NIH/NCI administrative supplement to R01CA246589 is to provide support, mentorship, and training to Glynnis McDonnell, PhD, as a postdoctoral fellow under the mentorship of Kenneth Tercyak and Beth Peshkin at Georgetown University's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cancer Prevention and Control Program. Over a two-year period, this fellowship will promote the applicant's/fellow's growth as an independent behavioral science researcher in the area of cancer control and prevention with a focus on family communication through six major activities: 1) mentored research experiences with the parent study team; 2) advanced training in mixed-methods research (qualitative-quantitative analysis of behavioral data) to advance outcomes of genetic counseling; 3) participation in didactic opportunities through Georgetown University Medical Center, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the Cancer Prevention and Control Program; 4) attendance at national scientific meetings (virtual, or in-person when resumed); 5) preparation of manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals, and; 6) developing and submitting an NIH/NCI research career development award application to extend the learning. This supplement opportunity will also allow the applicant to enhance her competencies in behavioral research theory and methodology through exposure to the parent study’s RCT research implementation, and help develop expertise in the content area of genetic counseling interventions for families at high breast cancer risk. With interests in psychosocial kinship factors influencing health behaviors across the lifespan, the applicant aims to: 1) characterize mothers’ perspectives about the social and psychological advantages and disadvantages of communicating with children about BRCA genetic testing, inherited cancer risks, and cancer prevention, and 2) examine associations among maternal BRCA carrier status and cancer history with mother-child distress, as well as sociodemographic moderators of distress. Given well-established disparities in cancer outcomes, and the potential for genetics to transform clinical and public health approaches to cancer risk identification and management, the proposed training plan is significant because it will inform Healthy People 2030 goals surrounding genetic counseling for hereditary breast cancer, increasing the health-related quality of life of cancer survivors, and doing so equitably across diverse populations. After training, the applicant will be positioned to lead high-impact research in this area.