Coffee Breaks with CGC Mentors

CGC Early Career Initiative Committee

Coffee Break with CGC Mentors

Are you a trainee or early career (1-3 years after training) CGC member?
Would you like to broaden your perspective by making professional contacts at different institutions?
Do you have questions relevant to your training or career development?
Would it be helpful to meet with an expert member in your field to answer these questions and more?

Then we invite you to join us for the CGC Early Career Initiative Committee’s 2026 Coffee Break with CGC Mentors.

What are Coffee Breaks with CGC Mentors?

These mentoring sessions, lasting one hour and facilitated by a CGC mentor, have a limit of six trainee/early career CGC members per session. Sign ups are on a first-come basis and are limited to foster effective small group engagement.

If you aren’t a CGC member, you can become a member today!

• Genomics and biotech startup
  
• LGG fellowship
  
• Clinical Genomics, Cancer Molecular Diagnostics in academic institute
  
• Working in commercial laboratories
  
• Academic to Industry transition

Sarah South, Phd, FACMG graduated from Utah State University with a BS in Biology and subsequently received her PhD in Human Genetics from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. South completed an American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics Fellowship with board certification in Clinical Cytogenetics at the University of Utah and Laboratory Genetics and Genomics board certification at Quest Diagnostics.

Dr. South is currently an Executive Scientific Director at Quest Diagnostics where she leads the scientific directors and technical supervisors for germline molecular genetics. Previous positions have included Vice President of Laboratory Sciences at AncestryDNA, Vice President of Clinical Laboratory Operations at 23andMe, Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of Utah, Medical Director at ARUP Laboratories, and Laboratory Director at Lineagen. Dr. South was faculty in the University of Utah Genetic Counseling Master’s Degree Program and the Director of the University of Utah Fellowship training program in Clinical Cytogenetics. Dr. South also acted for 5 years as an Associate Editor for the American Journal of Medical Genetics.

Dr. South has served on numerous committees for the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, including her current membership on the Board of Directors, and previous committee work with Advocacy and Government Affairs and 9 years with the Laboratory Quality Assurance Committee, serving the last 2 years as Chair. Dr. South has also served on the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute Standards for Molecular Methodologies Committee, the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics Content-Based Standards Setting Committee and the Clinical Genome Resource Evidence Based Review Committee. Dr. South is also a Past-President of the American Cytogenetics Conference.

Dr. South has focused her career on the accessibility and applicability of genomics. Skills and experience include deep understanding of various genetic technologies, regulatory models including CLIA and FDA, clinical genetic interpretation, public genomic health education and accessibility, product user interface, communications, laboratory operations, quality assurance, supply chain optimization, and professional committee advocacy and recommendation development. Dr. South is a primary or co-author of more than 90 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and reviews.
                        

Potential Discussion Topics:

• Considerations for working in academic and industry environments
• Building for both scale and quality in genetic testing
• Work/life balance

Xia Wang, PhD, FACMG
AiLife Diagnostics

Alex Wagner, PhD is a Principal Investigator at The Steve and Cindy Rasmussen Institute for Genomic Medicine (IGM) at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and Assistant Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Biomedical Informatics at the Ohio State University College of Medicine. Dr. Wagner serves as director of the Variant Interpretation for Cancer Consortium (VICC) Driver Project, co-lead of the GA4GH Genomic Knowledge Standards Work Stream, co-lead of the NIH Bridge2AI Standards working group, and a member of the HGVS Variation Nomenclature Committee. He is a proponent of open science, FAIR data sharing, and AI-assisted scalable variant interpretation.

Dr. Wagner has co-developed several precision medicine web tools, including the Drug-Gene Interaction Database (DGIdb), the database of Clinical Interpretations of Variants in Cancer (CIViC), and the VICC meta-knowledgebase. His research continues to explore new models and tools to address the challenges of variation and genomic knowledge representation, including his work as a product lead of the GA4GH Variation Representation Specification (VRS) and the VICC Gene Fusion specification (fusions.cancervariants.org). His research is focused on the development of tools and standards for advancing genomic medicine and our knowledge of genomic alterations in cancers, and his laboratory is actively involved in efforts to apply these standards and tools to drive clinical variant interpretation at scale.      

Potential Discussion Topics:

• Variant interpretation standards
• Bioinformatics

Alaa Koleilat, PhD, FACMG
Knight Diagnostic Laboratories Oregon Health & Science University

Alex Wagner, PhD is a Principal Investigator at The Steve and Cindy Rasmussen Institute for Genomic Medicine (IGM) at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and Assistant Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Biomedical Informatics at the Ohio State University College of Medicine. Dr. Wagner serves as director of the Variant Interpretation for Cancer Consortium (VICC) Driver Project, co-lead of the GA4GH Genomic Knowledge Standards Work Stream, co-lead of the NIH Bridge2AI Standards working group, and a member of the HGVS Variation Nomenclature Committee. He is a proponent of open science, FAIR data sharing, and AI-assisted scalable variant interpretation.

Dr. Wagner has co-developed several precision medicine web tools, including the Drug-Gene Interaction Database (DGIdb), the database of Clinical Interpretations of Variants in Cancer (CIViC), and the VICC meta-knowledgebase. His research continues to explore new models and tools to address the challenges of variation and genomic knowledge representation, including his work as a product lead of the GA4GH Variation Representation Specification (VRS) and the VICC Gene Fusion specification (fusions.cancervariants.org). His research is focused on the development of tools and standards for advancing genomic medicine and our knowledge of genomic alterations in cancers, and his laboratory is actively involved in efforts to apply these standards and tools to drive clinical variant interpretation at scale.      

Potential Discussion Topics:

• Variant interpretation standards
• Bioinformatics

Aiko Otsubo, PhD, FACMG
University of Michigan

Catherine Cottrell, PhD, FACMG, serves as Section Chief of The Institute for Genomic Medicine (IGM) Clinical Laboratory at Nationwide Children's Hospital (NCH). She is a Professor - Clinical in the Departments of Pathology and Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. Dr. Cottrell is dual certified by the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics in the specialties of Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics having completed her fellowship training at The Ohio State University and Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Following the conclusion of her fellowship, Dr. Cottrell assumed a faculty position at Washington University (WU) School of Medicine in Saint Louis, Missouri. In the six years she spent at WU, she ultimately served as the Director of the Cytogenetics and Molecular Pathology Laboratory, and as an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology and Immunology, and Department of Genetics. She returned to Nationwide Children’s in 2016. 

Dr. Cottrell specializes in the clinical interpretation of high-complexity genomic laboratory tests including next-generation sequencing, Sanger sequencing, chromosome analysis, FISH, and chromosomal and methylation microarrays. She is highly engaged in the development of new clinical diagnostic assays. She is the Principal Investigator of a translational research protocol within IGM aimed at genomic profiling in patients with rare and refractory cancer, hematologic, or somatic disease. She is a Co-Investigator of the Clinical Trial Specimen Molecular Characterization program supporting the Molecular Characterization Initiative, a project with global reach aimed at understanding the genetic components of pediatric cancers. She is the Program Director of the ACGME-accredited Laboratory Genetics and Genomics fellowship at NCH. Additionally, she lends genomic expertise as a faculty member within the Vascular Anomalies Center at NCH. Her current clinical and research emphasis includes laboratory and genomic education, the resolution of genetic variation with advanced genomic methodologies, and the development of best practices in variant interpretation.

Potential Discussion Topics:

• Academic genomic medicine
• Leadership development
• Committee engagement
• Laboratory genetics and genomics fellowship
• Variant interpretation
• Next-generation sequencing
• Mosaicism

Lu Wang, MD, PhD, FACMG
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Jennifer Laffin, PhD, FACMG is currently a Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Director and Medical Director of the Division of Cytogenetics and Medical Director within the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Dr. Laffin is board certified by the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics in Clinical Cytogenetics and in Clinical Molecular Genetics. Her most recent research interests are in genetics and genomics data visualization and the use of machine learning in genome analysis. Prior to joining the University of Minnesota, she spent 9 years as Senior Laboratory Medical Director at Exact Sciences Laboratories and 13 years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics-Genetics and Metabolism, and Director of UW Cytogenetic Services and Molecular Genetics. She was also Program Director of the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics programs for UW Madison in Clinical Biochemical Genetics, Clinical Cytogenetics and Genomics, Clinical Molecular Genetics and Genomics, and Laboratory Genetics and Genomics from 2015-2019.      

Potential Discussion Topics:

• Cytogenetics
• Molecular genetics
• Prenatal
• Postnatal
• Oncology testing
• Academia and industry

Bryan Krock, PhD, FACMG
Caris Life Sciences

Jennifer Laffin, PhD, FACMG is currently a Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Director and Medical Director of the Division of Cytogenetics and Medical Director within the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Dr. Laffin is board certified by the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics in Clinical Cytogenetics and in Clinical Molecular Genetics. Her most recent research interests are in genetics and genomics data visualization and the use of machine learning in genome analysis. Prior to joining the University of Minnesota, she spent 9 years as Senior Laboratory Medical Director at Exact Sciences Laboratories and 13 years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics-Genetics and Metabolism, and Director of UW Cytogenetic Services and Molecular Genetics. She was also Program Director of the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics programs for UW Madison in Clinical Biochemical Genetics, Clinical Cytogenetics and Genomics, Clinical Molecular Genetics and Genomics, and Laboratory Genetics and Genomics from 2015-2019.      

Potential Discussion Topics:

• Cytogenetics
• Molecular genetics
• Prenatal
• Postnatal
• Oncology testing
• Academia and industry

Madhuri Hegde, PhD, FACMG
Revvity Inc

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