Week 6 2025

Sonia S. Kupfer is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Section of Gastroenterology at the University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL. She is the Director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Risk and Prevention Clinic and co-Director of the Comprehensive Cancer Risk and Prevention clinic at the University of Chicago. She is funded by a K08 career development award from the NIH/NCI to study colorectal cancer genetic susceptibility variants in African Americans. Dr. Kupfer is also currently investigating genetics related to chemopreventive agents for colorectal cancer, notably vitamin D. In addition to her translational research, Dr. Kupfer is actively engaged in clinical studies in high-risk colorectal cancer primarily Lynch syndrome. Her clinical work focuses on hereditary GI cancer evaluation, testing and management. She also has served as co-Director of two CME conferences on genomics. Dr. Kupfer received her undergraduate degree from Yale University and then completed medical school, residency, chief residency and gastroenterology fellowship training at the University of Chicago. She is originally from a northern suburb of Chicago and currently resides in the Hyde Park area with her husband, an art dealer, and her two children.

HEATHER HAMPEL, MS, CGC, is a Professor in the Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research and Associate Director of the Division of Cancer Genomics at City of Hope National Cancer Center. She co-leads the administration of more than 20 genetic counselors, 6 GCAs, and additional support staff who provide genetic cancer risk assessment through the City of Hope enterprise and more than 20 CRAs, LVNs and CRNs on the Precision Medicine consent team. Her research focuses on Lynch syndrome and universal tumor screening for Lynch syndrome. She has >190 publications on the prevalence of Lynch syndrome among colorectal and endometrial cancer patients, the best testing protocols, cost-effectiveness, and referral guidelines for cancer genetics. She was on the Board of Directors for the American Board of Genetic Counseling from 2006-2011, serving as President in 2009 and 2010. She has been on the Steering Committee of the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable since 2016. She was on the Council of the Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited Colorectal Cancer from 2016-2019, serving as president in 2017-2018. She served as the Secretary/Treasurer of the National Society of Genetic Counselors in 2022. She was awarded the Natalie Weissberger Paul National Achievement Award from the National Society of Genetic Counselors in 2023.

LAUREN GIMA, MS, CGC is a board-certified, licensed genetic counselor at City of Hope in Duarte, CA, where she specializes in clinical cancer genomics. She earned her MS degree in Genetic Counseling from Northwestern University and BS degree in Human Biology from University of California San Diego. Her primary clinical responsibilities include providing cancer genetic counseling services for City of Hope’s patient population and her primary research interest is in hereditary GI cancer syndromes. Ms. Gima is a faculty member of the City of Hope Intensive Course and Clinical Cancer Genomics Community of Practice, and an adjunct faculty member for the Keck Graduate Institute Genetic Counseling and Genomic Data Analytics masters’ programs. She serves as a clinical rotation supervisor for genetic counseling students and as a mentor for the KGI Genetic Counseling program, providing ongoing support and guidance for new genetic counseling students. Lauren is a member of the National Society of Genetic Counselors, the Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited Gastrointestinal Cancers, the Southern California Genetic Counselors, the Minority Genetics Professionals Network, and the Alliance for Genomic Justice.