Jodie M. Vento is the Director of the Genetic Counseling Program and an Assistant Professor of Human Genetics. After completing undergraduate degrees in biology and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh in 2005, Jodie earned a Masters in Genetic Counseling from the University of Maryland Medical School in Baltimore in 2008. She worked as a genetic counselor and neurogenetics program coordinator at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC, before joining Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh in 2012. At UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Jodie managed an innovative program called the Center for Rare Disease Therapy. In her role at Children’s Hospital, Jodie worked extensively with payers to develop shared processes and resources to increase the coverage and reimbursement of genetic testing.
Jodie is the Insurance Alignment Committee Chair for the Patient-Centered Laboratory Guidance Services (PLUGS) Group out of Seattle Children’s Hospital. Jodie is also an active member of NSGC and is currently on the Board of Directors. In her role at NSGC, she has served as the chair of the Access and Service Delivery committee and the co-chair of the Test Utilization Subcommittee within the Industry SIG. Jodie is also the Founder and Past President of the Pennsylvania Association of Genetic Counselors. Jodie serves as the Genetics Faculty for the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities and Related Disorders (LEND) Program at the University of Pittsburgh. Throughout her career, Jodie has worked closely with rare disease community and will continue this work through the Pennsylvania Rare Disease Advisory Council (PARDAC).
Jodie’s teaching interests are in genetic testing technologies, neurogenetics, psychosocial counseling and general pediatrics. Her research interests include rare disease, access to genomic services, and payer policies.
View Faculty Page