Member Spotlight: Sandra Darilek, MS, CGC

By Tanvina Ria

We’re thrilled to feature Sandra A Darilek, MS, CGC, a reproductive genetic counselor at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital. Join us as we celebrate her impact and dedication to the field. Be sure to check out the Q&A below to learn more about her path, insights, and what drives her passion for genetic counseling.

Texas Transcript (TT): When and where did you earn your genetic counseling degree? Where do you live? Where do you currently work?

Sandra Darilek (SD): I earned my genetic counseling degree from the UT Genetic Counseling Program here in Houston. I live in Pearland and work at Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children’s Hospital — my first and only job since graduating. I am a native Texan, born in South Texas, and I obviously love it here.

TT: Tell a little about your job. What is your elevator pitch?

SD: I’m not sure I’ve completely refined my elevator pitch yet, but I’d say this: I’m a reproductive genetic counselor who works with women and couples who are building their families or navigating a pregnancy. I like to tell people who don’t know what genetic counseling is that I am like a translator who helps people make sense of the medical and genetic information they are being given and make the best decisions for themselves based on what they learn.

TT: What has been a valuable learning experience in your career path or journey?

SD: Every learning experience has been valuable, but the most valuable have probably been when things went sideways with a case and I had to figure out how to get back on stable ground. You always learn the most from the times things went wrong, and that happens to all of us.

TT: What inspired you to specialize in prenatal genetic counseling? Tell us about your journey of becoming involved with this specialty.

SD: When I started grad school I thought I would be a cancer GC. In grad school, I most enjoyed pediatric genetics. However, I wanted to stay in the Houston area and there weren’t any jobs in pediatric genetics, so I decided to take a job in prenatal which was my next favorite specialty. It turned out to be the best decision.

While I didn’t quite know what I was getting into when I took this job it has afforded me opportunities I probably wouldn’t have gotten somewhere else. Here I was able to build a prenatal genetic counseling practice, fell into reproductive genetic counseling and preimplantation genetic testing counseling specifically, and have been lucky to work with some of the best GCs across all the specialties.Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital is a special place to be a genetic counselor, mainly due to the great people I work with and the supportiveenvironment I feel like we have here. I find prenatal/reproductive genetic counseling to be demanding but also immensely rewarding.

TT: What do you find most rewarding about your work?

SD: Being able to work with patients. There are a lot of aspects to my job, but what gets me up in the morning is getting to see patients. I find it rewarding to walk with them and help them navigate what is sometimes one of the most difficult episodes in their lives. There is something wonderful and humbling about a patient telling you that you helped make a hard time easier or that you were the person they knew they could count on to try to help them.

TT: What genetic syndrome do you find most fascinating?

SD: I don’t really have a specific answer to this. I find that as soon as I think I have a good handle on a genetic syndrome, we learn something new that changes what we know and reminds us that, in genetics, our knowledge is always growing, changing, and evolving. You can’t get complacent in this field. Sometimes that is a daunting thought, but it also keeps things interesting. There is rarely a boring day in genetics.

TT: What advice do you have for genetic counselors of TSGC community?

SD: Build a good network and don’t burn bridges. The genetics community is somewhat small but mighty, and having a network of colleagues you can reach out to and lean on is invaluable. You want to foster and maintain those connections because you never know when you will need them or benefit from them.

TT: Outside of your career, what brings you joy?

SD: I am lucky to live close to my sister and her family as well as my parents, and I thrive on the love and support I get from them. I am also grateful that we are close enough to be able to travel together without wanting to strangle each other, and we have had some wonderful international adventures. I also have two fuzzballs who make me smile every day and are always happy to see me when I walk through the door.