Kristen Sund PhD, MS’ Post

The last 3 years of my career as a Geneticist/Genetic Counselor have been an eye-opening roller coaster ride from academia, to international startup, to acquisition by the largest genetic sequencing company in the world. Following the acquisition, I was the logical lead for a powerhouse team that implemented cloud-based genomic interpretation software globally. I am incredibly proud of the work we did. Together, we trained Illumina employees around the world and provided a meaningful experience to >130 research and clinical customers. It was a challenging but awesome experience, that was unfortunately cut short for me with the recent Illumina layoffs. I am using this time to reframe and re-focus on my professional passions. The things I loved the most about this experience and I am looking for in a new role include: 1.    The team. We learned that you can build an amazing culture (I previously thought this was a buzz word), even with remote positions. Some words I would use to describe them: Smart, dedicated, caring, curious, persevering, respectful, diverse. 2.    The international nature of the work. We worked with colleagues and customers across countries, languages, time zones, cultures, religions. We really got to know what was happening in genomics around the world. 3.    The opportunity to work with groundbreaking genomics projects in the area of my passion, genetic/genomic newborn screening. The chance to imagine full annotation of the human genome and applications for a public health setting. 4.    The focus on the patient. At the end of the day, this is why we do work in the field, to make a difference in the medical care and outcome for someone’s child, someone’s parent, someone’s brother/sister/family/friend. Starting over can be challenging, but I am excited to have this opportunity to find the best fit for me at this point in my career based on all I have learned. I love the field of medical genetics/genomics and I cannot wait to see where it takes me next!!