Susan Christian

Dr. Susan Christian is a genetic counsellor with Alberta Precision Laboratories and Alberta Health Services. She completed a Bachelors of Science Degree with a Specialization in Genetics at the University of Alberta in 1996, a Master of Science in Genetic Counselling at the University of British Columbia in 1999, and PhD in Medical Genetics at the University of Alberta in 2019. Throughout her career she has worked in pediatric, prenatal, cardiac and neuro genetics. She currently works as a laboratory genetic counsellor and is cross appointed to the Medical Genetics Clinic where she practices in cardiac genetics.
Dr. Christian’s research interests include predictive genetic testing in minors, inherited heart disease, cost utilization of genetic testing, and communication of newborn screen results.

Selected Publications:

Evaluation of face validity and core concepts of a novel knowledge scale for inherited heart disease: A pilot study
Christian S, Dzwiniel T, Baker A, Biesecker B, Borle K, Mostafavi R, Slamon J, Wand H, Yeates L .
J Genet Couns.  Epub ahead of print. http://doi.org/10.1002/jgc4.1995

Evaluating the prevalence of lipid assessments in children in Alberta, Canada.
Christian S, Ridsdale R, Lin M, Khoury M.
CMAJ Open. 2023 Sep 19;11(5):E820-E825. doi: 10.9778/cmajo.20220163. 

Principles of Genetic Counseling in Inherited Heart Conditions.
Christian S, Dzwiniel T. 
Card Electrophysiol Clin. 2023 Sep;15(3):229-239. doi: 10.1016/j.ccep.2023.05.001. 

Diagnostic validity and clinical utility of genetic testing for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Christian S, Cirino A, Hansen B, Harris S, Murad AM, Natoli JL, Malinowski J and A Kelly M.
Open Heart 2022; 9:e001815. doi: 10.1136/openhrt-2021-001815

The impact of physical activity modification on the well-being of a cohort of children with an inherited arrhythmia or cardiomyopathy.
Christian S, Somerville M, Taylor S, Spence JC, Giuffre M, Atallah J.
Cardiol Young. 2020 May 30(5): 692-697

Newborn Screening: Current Status in Alberta, Canada.
De Souza A, Wolan V, Battochio A, Christian S, Hume S, Johner G, Lilley M, Ridsdale R, Schnabl K, Tran C, Yuen-Jung J, Sosova I.
International Journal of Neonatal Screening. 2019 October 5, 37.

When to Offer Predictive Genetic Testing to Children at Risk of an Inherited Arrhythmia or Cardiomyopathy: The Family Perspective.
Christian S, Somerville M, Taylor S, Atallah J.
Circulation: Genomics and Precision Medicine. 2018 Aug 11(8):e002300

Assessing the cost of implementing the 2011 Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada and Canadian College of Medical Genetics practice guidelines on the detection of fetal aneuploidies.
Lilley M, Hume S, Karpoff N, Maire G, Taylor S, Tomaszewski R, Yoshimoto M, Christian S.
Prenat Diagn. 2017 Jul 8.