Section Chief
Holly H. Ardinger
MD

Welcome

The mission of the Section of Genetics is to provide state of the art evaluation, diagnosis, treatment and genetic counseling for a variety of inherited disorders, genetic birth defects, chromosomal disorders and concerns about family medical histories. We work toward increasing the knowledge about genetic disorders and the process of genetic counseling through education of health professionals and the community and by contributing to the medical literature.

Our section has four physicians who are board certified by the American Board of Medical Genetics (ABMG). Two of these physicians are also board certified as biochemical geneticists by the ABMG. Additional staff includes six board certified genetic counselors, three board-eligible genetic counselors and one pediatric nurse practitioner. Special expertise of the staff includes diagnosis of dysmorphic syndromes and genetic disorders, assistance in the interpretation of genetic test results, diagnosis and treatment of inborn errors of metabolism, including those detected in the newborn screening program and enzyme replacement therapy for metabolic conditions. We provide genetic counseling to families pertaining to the natural history of these disorders and the risk of recurrence in another family member.

Last year, the Genetics staff provided evaluation, treatment and/or genetic counseling services to more than 1,100 patients and families at Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics and prenatal genetic counseling to almost 2,500 pregnant women and their families.