Stephanie A. Cohen, MS
Associate Professor of Clinical Medical & Molecular Genetics
- Phone
- (317) 274-2240
- Address
-
IB130
MMGE
IN
Indianapolis, IN - PubMed:
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Bio
Stephanie A. Cohen is a licensed, board-certified genetic counselor with over 30 years of experience in clinical genetics, specializing in hereditary cancer risk assessment. She earned her Master of Science in Genetic Counseling from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in December 1993, following a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, where she graduated magna cum laude with honors in Biology in May 1992.
Stephanie began her career at Consultants in Genetic Medicine at The Toledo Hospital in 1994. She then joined St. Vincent in Indianapolis, where she held progressive roles in Maternal Fetal Medicine and Genetics (1995–2000), the Medical Genetics Department (2000–2006), and the Cancer Genetics Risk Assessment Program (2006–2025).
Stephanie’s research interests have been focused on access to high quality genetic services. She has been involved with multiple investigator-led research projects, resulting in numerous publications and national presentations. She is a leader in the genetic counseling community, serving in many roles including Chair of the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) Access and Service Delivery Committee, the NSGC Research, Quality and Outcomes Committee, and Co-Chair of the Early Detection Committee for the Indiana Cancer Consortium. She currently serves on the board of the Indiana Oncology Society, is Vice-Chair of the Membership committee for the Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited Colorectal Cancer and is a Genomics Navigator for the Cancer Support Community.
Stephanie is dedicated to education and mentorship, actively training genetic counseling students as a lecturer, clinical supervisor and research advisor.
Key Publications
Cohen, Stephanie A., 'Cancer Genetic Counseling', in Michael J. Deem, Robin E. Grubs, and Emily G. Farrow (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Genetic Counseling, Oxford Handbooks (2025; online edn, Oxford Academic, 23 Sept. 2025), https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190069964.013.0009
Frye, J, Wetherill, L, Cohen, S, Fitzgerald-Butt, S, Helm, B, Prucka. S, Schroeder, C. Factors Influencing Retention of Patient-Facing Genetic Counselors: Role of Generational Age and Work Environment. Journal of Genetic Counseling. DOI: 10.1002/jgc4.70076
Kotsopoulos Joanne, Chen Ji; Shana J. Kim, MSc; Raymond H. Kim, MD, PhD; Louise Bordeleau, MSc, MD; William D. Foulkes, MBBS, PhD; Seema Panchal, MS; Stephanie A. Cohen, MS, LCGC; Sophie Sun, MD; Larissa McKetton, PhD; Angela K. Troyer, PhD; Ping Sun, PhD; Steven A. Narod, MD (2025). Bilateral oophorectomy and the probability of amnestic mild cognitive impairment among carriers of a pathogenic variant in BRCA1 or BRCA2. International Journal of Gynecological Cancer, Volume 35, Issue 2, 100379
Nadine Tung, Charité Ricker, Hans Messersmith, Judith Balmaña, Susan Domchek, Elena Martinez Stoffel, Khaldoun Almhanna, Banu Arun, Yanin Chavarri-Guerra, Stephanie A. Cohen, Deborah Cragun, Katherine D. Crew, Michael J. Hall, Gregory Idos, Ghecemy Lopez, Tuya Pal, Sara Pirzadeh-Miller, Colin Pritchard, Huma Q. Rana, Umang Swami, Gregory A. Vidal (2024). Selection of Germline Genetic Testing Panels in Patients With Cancer: ASCO Guideline. Journal of Clinical Oncology. https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.24.00662
Cohen, SA, Nixon, DM (2023). Evaluating attributes of a collaborative model of service delivery for hereditary cancer risk assessment. Journal of Genetic Counseling. DOI: 10.1002/jgc4.1722
Cohen, S. A., Nixon, D. M., & Lichtenberg, E. (2023). Adding a genetic counseling assistant improves efficiency of hereditary cancer genetic counseling without impacting patient experience. Journal of Genetic Counseling. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgc4.1671
Higgs, E., Wain, K. E., Wynn, J., Cho, M. T., Higgins, S., Blaisdell, D., Dugan, D., Valek, S., & Cohen, S. (2022). Measuring quality and value in genetic counseling: The current landscape and future directions. Journal of Genetic Counseling. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgc4.
Ma, D., Ahimaz, P. R., Mirocha, J. M., Cook, L., Giordano, J. L., Mohan, P., & Cohen, S. A. (2021). Clinical genetic counselor experience in the adoption of telehealth in the United States and Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Genet Couns. doi:10.1002/jgc4.1516
Cohen, S. A., Myers, M., Palmer, C. G. S., & Trepanier, A. (2021). Genetic counseling delivery, outcomes, training, and practice in response to COVID-19: Introduction to the special issue. Journal of Genetic Counseling, 30, 922– 923. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgc4.1486
Kotsopoulos, J, Kim, SJ, Armel, S, Bordeleau, L, Foulkes, WD, McKinnon, W, Panchal, S, Cohen, SA, Sun, S, Sun, P, McKetton, L, Troyer, AK, Narod, SA (2021). An evaluation of memory and attention in BRCA mutation carriers using an online cognitive assessment tool. Cancer. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33654
Boehmer, L., Shivakumar, L., Weldon, C. B., Trosman, J. R., Cohen, S. A., Nixon, D., . . . BRCA. (2021). Genetic counseling and testing rates among community cancer programs for patients with breast cancer following site-directed quality improvement. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 39(15_suppl), 10529-10529. doi:10.1200/JCO.2021.39.15_suppl.10529
Khan, A, Cohen, S, Weir, C and Greenberg, S. Implementing innovative service delivery models in genetic counseling: a qualitative analysis of facilitators and barriers. September 11, 2020; Journal of Genetic Counseling: DOI:10.1002/jgc4.1325
Boothe, E., Greenberg, S., Delaney, C. L., & Cohen, S. A. Genetic counseling service delivery models: A study of genetic counselors’ interests, needs, and barriers to implementation. September 3, 2020; Journal of Genetic Counseling, doi:10.1002/jgc4.1319
Greenburg, S, Boothe, E, Delaney, C, Noss, R and Cohen, S. Genetic Counseling Service Delivery Models in the United States: Assessment of changes in use from 2010 to 2017. April 2020; Journal of Genetic Counseling: DOI: 10.1002/jgc4.1265
Cohen, S. Hiring a Genetic Counselor in a Lean Labor Market. Oncology Issues. 2020; 35(1), p. 80
| Year | Degree | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | MS | University of Michigan |
| 1992 | BS | Case Western Reserve University |
Cohen's research has been primarily focused improving access to cancer genetic services in a community setting by collaborating with non-genetics providers to ensure quality and outcomes. She is also interested in professional issues related to genetic counseling and service delivery models in genetic counseling.
Cohen's clinical interests are related to improving the identification of hereditary cancer syndromes by leveraging technology and collaboration with non-genetics healthcare providers, and improving cascade testing to identify patients before a diagnosis of cancer. The ultimate goal is to ensure the knowledge of a hereditary cancer syndrome improves clinical outcomes.