Nicole Mealey

Hello, my name is Nicole Mealey, and I sometimes go by Lizzy. I am a Canadian, born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, where I also received my undergraduate degree in Health Sciences, majoring in Bioinformatics from the University of Calgary. After graduating I worked as a research assistant investigating the impact of lifestyle and environmental factors on mutational signatures in cancer. I was involved in publishing a few papers, including a first-author manuscript describing genomic differences between young-onset and older-onset breast tumors.

I volunteered at a local crisis hotline called the Distress Centre. I loved the opportunity to connect with my community and empower callers when they were at their most difficult points. I was also lucky to be able to volunteer in the Genetics clinic in Calgary, where I assisted the cancer genetics team by transcribing pedigrees. From that opportunity I transitioned to joining the adult genetics team as a Genetics Assistant. In this role, I supported both genetic counselors and a geneticist by ordering genetic tests, managing funding, organizing sample collection, and communicating with patients.

After working towards genetic counseling for several years, I am excited to move to Milwaukee with my husband and take the next steps in my career as part of MCW’s inaugural class of genetic counseling students!