The Genetics Services Team
Geneticist
Dr. Wendy Meschino, MD, CCFP, FRCPC, FCCMG
Dr. Meschino is the advisor to the Porcupine Health Unit genetic program. She studied medicine at the University of Toronto, then a two year family medicine residency at Toronto Western and North York General Hospital, followed by a Pediatric residency at Hospital for Sick Children, then a two-year clinical genetics fellowship which she completed in 1986.
Dr. Meschino is presently a clinical geneticist and Associate Chief of the Regional Genetics Program at North York General Hospital. She is the director of the Charlotte and Lewis Steinberg Familial Breast Cancer Clinic as well as the Huntington Disease Multi-disciplinary Clinic at the Hospital. She is also the consultant geneticist for the Familial Breast Cancer Clinic at the Toronto-Synnybrook Regional Cancer Centre and Advisor to the Ministry of Health's northern outreach genetics clinic in Timmins.
Dr. Meschino is the current chair of the Ethics and Public Policy Committee of the Canadian College of Medical Geneticists. She is chair of the Clinical Subcommittee of the Ministry of Health's Cancer Genetics Implementation Committee and has been appointed to Health Canada's working group on Public and Professional Educational Requirements Related to Genetic Testing of Late-Onset Disease. Her interests include communication of genetic information to health-care professionals, patients and the public.
Nurse Counsellors
Lynda Collins has been in nursing for 30 years and has been working as a genetic nurse counselor at the Porcupine Health Unit for the past 8 years. She is a graduate of Northern College (1976) and received her Bachelor’s in Nursing from Laurentian University in 1993.
Nathalie Roy has been in nursing for 15 years. Nathalie is a graduate of Northern College (1993) and received her Bachelor’s in Nursing from Laurentian University in 2004.
Program Support
Natalie Demers is our program secretary. Natalie has worked in the administrative field for the last 10 years and is a graduate of Niagara College of Applied Arts and Technology in the office administrative executive program in 1994.
Contact Us
For more information please feel free to contact Lynda Collins or Nathalie Roy at 267-1181 extensions 15 and 17 respectively or e-mail us at genetics@porcupinehu.on.ca.