UUGPGC Spotlight

Makenna is from Sacramento, CA and attended UCLA where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Human Biology and Society. In her time between undergraduate and graduate school, she learned the craft of bartending and worked in a beloved local Irish pub. Makenna is passionate about public health and health policy and hopes to expand access to genetic counseling services to improve health equity in the United States. This is her first time living outside of California and she looks forward to continuing to explore the wonderful landscape that Utah has to offer.

Dr. Nicola Longo received his M.D. and Ph.D. in molecular biology and pathology from the University of Parma, School of Medicine in Italy. He then trained in Pediatrics, Medical and Biochemical Genetics at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, USA He is a Professor of Pediatrics and Adjunct Professor of Pathology, Nutrition and Integrative Physiology at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, UT. He is also the Chief of the Division of Medical Genetics, Director of the Metabolic Service, Director of the Training Program in Medical Biochemical Genetics and Medical Director of the Biochemical Genetics Lab at ARUP Laboratories in Salt Lake City. His clinical research concerns the molecular bases of metabolic disorders, their identification through newborn screening, their natural history, and the development of novel therapies. He is the principal investigator on more than 20 active clinical trials and directs clinical activities for the diagnosis and management of a large number of patients with rare disorders. He has published >180 peer-reviewed articles, in addition to >20 review articles and about 30 book chapters on metabolic disorders.