Kate Shelly graduated with a BS in Biological Sciences in 2010 from the University of Delaware. She worked for three years in the clinical laboratory of Reproductive Associates of Delaware to facilitate IVF procedures. She also researched the incidence of embryo mosaicism in pre-implantation screening, which led her to graduate school. She earned her PhD in Genetics and Genomics from Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in 2020, and her research focused on Fragile X-associated diseases.
While in graduate school, Kate was involved with professional and family organizations to raise awareness about rare diseases. She also helped create and run a parent seminar for families living with genetic disorders named From Stress to Strength that became a funded outreach effort at BCM. She moved to Atlanta in 2020 to pursue research in Fragile X-related diseases at Emory as a post-doctoral fellow and is excited to become a genetic counselor to contribute to the spectrum of care required by families with inherited diseases.
In her free time, Kate loves hiking with her husky Ace and hanging out with friends at Fetch dog park. She's also excited to continue efforts to engage families and communities living with rare genetic diseases at Emory. Anyone interested in building these efforts is welcome to reach out to Kate via email.