Meet Our Team: Kelly Ormond
Meet Kelly Ormond, co-investigator on the PaSAGE study. Armed with degrees in biology and psychology from Bucknell University, Ormond combined these two passions to pursue a career in genetic counseling. She received her MS in Genetic Counseling from Northwestern University and later received a post-graduate certificate in Clinical Medical Ethics from the University of Chicago.
Following this formal training, in 2007 Ormond accepted a position at Stanford to direct their genetic counseling program. At the time, the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics had received a grant to study genetics and ethics. Ormond states, “Part of the big appeal to work at Stanford was that I was going to get to do more research in the ethics space. The more time I spent in this space, the more I realized that this is what I wanted to pursue”.
Fast forward to the present day, and these goals have been achieved; Ormond currently works at ETH Zürich as a Researcher in the Health Ethics and Policy Lab. While she continues to teach medical ethics courses and mentor students doing research, the majority of her time is spent on various research projects. Ormond works diligently to ensure her research is relevant to the new community her family calls home: Switzerland. For example, one of the projects she is currently leading is aimed at identifying the views of Swiss residents on gene editing. She is also currently researching the intersection of genomics, data sharing, and return of genetic results.
Ormond has always been interested in issues around reproductive genetics and reproductive ethics, and this has been a theme across her career. This long-held passion also draws her to the specific focus of the PaSAGE grant. As the only genetic counselor on the team, her expertise is integral to every arm of this study. “As a clinician and genetic counselor at heart, I care a lot about what the people who have lived experience with these conditions think about future treatments. And I think it’s super important that we hear those voices and that we find a way to give those voices a microphone” Ormond states. With her current position at ETH - Zürich leading her further into the policy world–learning about how governments and large organizations make science-related decisions–she is also directly involved with the policy-facing arm of PaSAGE.
When asked how she got involved with the PaSAGE team, Ormond pointed to the work she, Dr. Isasi, and Dr. Musunuru did while on the ASHG social issues committee. After identifying the need for stakeholder data, Kelly convened a group of people, including Drs. Allyse and Michie, to brainstorm how to do just that. One of the things Ormond finds unique about the PaSAGE team is just how interdisciplinary they are. “We have people that are coming from so many different backgrounds; bringing that together in such a productive way is something that you don’t normally see.”
She and her family moved to Switzerland because they fell in love with the country and its access to the outdoors. On the weekends, they love taking day trips to the Alps to ski and hike.