Melissa K. Maisenbacher, MS, CGC
Ms. Maisenbacher is a board-certified genetic counselor who has worked in pediatric genetics for the past nine years at both the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Florida. She also has held consulting position for Gene Dx, Inc. and the Children’s Hospital of Boston. In addition to general pediatric genetics, she specializes in the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, inherited cardiomyopathies, Barth syndrome and Pompe disease. She has published numerous articles on a variety of clinical genetic disorders. Her interests in PGS and PGD stem from counseling families with children affected by single gene disorders and personal relationships with couples with infertility. Ms. Maisenbacher currently serves on the board of the International 22q11.2 Foundation. She received her B.S. from the University of Notre Dame and her M.S. in genetic counseling from Arcadia University.
Ms. Saucier comes to Natera from Genzyme Genetics where she practiced prenatal and cancer genetic counseling. Previous to her role at Genzyme, she was employed as the sole genetic counselor at Scott and White Memorial Hospital in Temple, TX. In addition to providing genetic counseling services in prenatal, cancer and pediatric clinics at Scott and White, she gained valuable experience as an alternate on the Institutional Review Board and a member of the hospital’s genetic testing task force. Ms. Saucier is excited to bring this expertise to Natera where she can assist patients in navigating the changing world of PGD. Ms. Saucier is a board certified genetic counselor and a member of both the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) and the Texas Society of Genetic Counselors (TSGC). She holds a B.S. in Genetics from Texas A&M University and a M.S. in Genetic Counseling from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston.
Ms. Merrion is a board certified genetic counselor who comes to Natera from The Children’s Hospital of Colorado where she provided genetic counseling to pediatric and adult patients. In addition to general genetics, she specialized in inherited retinal dystrophies and ocular malformations. Ms. Merrion also has experience in research settings. She was the study coordinator for the Colorado Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC) Translational Neuroscience Nexus (Nexus) for the Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disorders, and has also worked as a research coordinator for different studies involving congenital defects of cognition and physical development. Ms. Merrion also has experience in laboratory genetic counseling through a previous position at Kimball Genetics Laboratory. Her interests in PGD stem from counseling individuals and families affected by chromosomal and single gene disorders. She received her B.S. in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology from the University of Colorado at Boulder and her M.S in Biophysics and Genetics from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.
Ms. Wemmer is a board certified genetic counselor with experience in both clinical and research settings. Prior to joining Natera she held a genetic counseling position at The Children’s Hospital of Colorado. There she coordinated the care for pediatric and adult patients in a variety of clinical settings including general pediatric, regional outreach, metabolic and specialty clinics. She has specific experience working in Skeletal Dysplasia, Endocrine-Genetics and Phenylketonuria (PKU) multidisciplinary clinics. Ms. Wemmer also has experience in clinical research and has previously worked as a study coordinator at the Colorado Sickle Cell Research and Treatment Center. Ms. Wemmer holds a B.S. in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Washington and a M.S in Biophysics and Genetics from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Ms. Wemmer has chosen to work in a PGD lab setting because she enjoys the challenge of keeping up with the constantly evolving technology and also enjoys helping patients make informed decisions regarding reproduction.
Ms. Clark is a board certified genetic counselor who has worked in pediatric genetics for the past nine years at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Her special interests include The Cornelia de Lange Syndrome (CdLS) and the genetics of hearing impairment. She established and directs The Center for Cornelia de Lange Syndrome and Related Diagnoses that brings in families with CdLS and other multisystem developmental diagnoses for specialized care and management. She also coordinates the clinical and molecular research studies in CdLS that initially led to identification of the causative genes. In addition, Ms. Clark evaluates and counsels patients with sensorineural hearing impairment and coordinates research projects aimed at expanding the current understanding of the genetic forms. She has numerous publications on both of these areas of work. She is excited to bring her experience in genetic testing and counseling to families pursuing PGD, assisting them in making informed decisions to reach their reproductive goals. Ms. Clark received her B.S. in Biology and Psychology from Rutgers University and her M.S. in genetic counseling from Arcadia University.
Ms. Gessner is a board certified genetic counselor with
experience in laboratory genetic counseling.
Before joining Natera, Ms. Gessner was a genetic counselor at Colorado
Genetics Laboratory, in Denver Colorado.
There she worked closely with laboratory and medical professionals in
the interpretation and counseling of chromosomal abnormalities, including
aneuploidies, deletion/duplication syndromes and balanced rearrangements. In the Denver area, she developed a reputation
as an expert in chromosomal microarray and was often invited to educate the
local community on the use and interpretation of the technology. Ms. Gessner is excited to be a part of the
Natera team and expand her skills into the world of PGD. Ms. Gessner holds a B.S. in Genetics, Cell
Biology and Development from the University of Minnesota and a M.S. in
Biophysics and Genetics from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical
Campus. 