Webinar: FTD and Genetic Testing – A Practical Approach: October 29, 2020

Learn about genetic testing in frontotemporal degeneration (FTD), considerations in deciding whether to test, and the complexities of potential results during “Genetic Testing — A Practical Approach” on Thursday, October 29, 2020. Hosted by the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, this one-and-a-half-hour webinar begins at 4:00 p.m. EDT (1:00 p.m. Pacific).

Jamie C. Fong, MS, CGC, a certified genetic counselor and assistant professor with Baylor College of Medicine, will outline an approach to better understanding how FTD may impact you and your family. She will also facilitate a discussion with former FTD caregiver and AFTD Board Alumna Debbie Fenoglio about her family’s experience with genetic testing.

About 40% of people affected by FTD have a family history with at least one other blood relative diagnosed with some form of neurodegenerative disease. Learn the potential ramifications of genetic testing and understand how sometimes the results are complex.

The information presented in this webinar may be of interest to anyone with an FTD diagnosis or a care partner or family member of a person diagnosed as well as to health professionals looking to better understand the potential for FTD to be inherited and considerations for families.

Jamie Fong, MS, CGC, is a genetic counselor at the Memory and Aging Center at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She has worked as a genetic counselor since 2008, providing clinical care and support to families at risk for inherited conditions. At UCSF, she provides genetic counseling to individuals and families with or at-risk of FTD and other neurodegenerative conditions. She also facilitates a telephone support group for adult children caregivers of people diagnosed with FTD. She lectures frequently about genetic counseling in dementia care, and leads medical student discussion groups about bioethics. She is a member of the National Society of Genetic Counselors and a diplomate of the American Board of Genetic Counseling. She holds a master’s degree in genetic counseling from Sarah Lawrence College, and a bachelor’s degree in molecular and cell biology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Debbie Fenoglio is a retired nurse who was on AFTD’s Board from 2011-2017, including serving as Vice Chair. Her husband, Dr. Michael Fenoglio, was a prominent surgeon in Denver. He was diagnosed with FTD at age 51 and died at age 57. His sister also died of FTD, at age 56. During her time on AFTD’s Board, Fenoglio worked with a focus on research and program development. She lives in Denver.

You can watch the webinar replay below.