معرفی
Lucinda Freeman serves as Senior Lecturer and Head of Discipline for Genetic Counselling within the Faculty of Health at University of Technology Sydney (UTS), a position she has held since January 2022. Previously, she worked as a Senior Genetic Counsellor in major Sydney genetic services and as a Research Genetic Counsellor with Mackenzie's Mission. She completed her PhD at the University of New South Wales focusing on the responsible implementation of reproductive genetic carrier screening.
Dr. Freeman's research centers on reproductive genomics, with particular emphasis on ethically justifiable carrier screening programs. Her work explores the complex relationship between genetic condition severity assessment and reproductive decision-making, especially regarding non-syndromic hearing loss. She has held leadership roles in the Australasian Society of Genetic Counsellors and the NSW Genetic Counsellor Advisory Board, focusing on defining genetic counsellors' scope of practice.
Her recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on the ethical implementation of reproductive genetic carrier screening, with particular attention to severity assessment frameworks, stakeholder perspectives, and the inclusion of non-syndromic hearing loss genes in screening panels. Her work combines bioethical analysis with practical implementation considerations for population-wide screening programs.
- Winston Churchill Fellowship (2017)
Dr. Freeman actively supervises research students, including work on the implementation of Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing in Thailand. She teaches in the Master of Genetic Counselling program and has secured multiple research grants, including funding from the Commonwealth Department of Health and MRFF Genomics Health Futures Mission. Her current funded projects focus on enhancing genomic testing pathology orders, genomics in palliative care, and embedding genomics in primary care through implementation science approaches.
