ABGC Spotlight: Meadow Heiman

Meadow Heiman is a Certified Genetic Counselor (CGC) specializing in hematology at the Indiana Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center (IHTC) in Indianapolis, Indiana. A St. Charles, Missouri native, Meadow began her journey to becoming a CGC by earning her Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology at Truman State University in 1998 and her Masters in Medical Genetics at Indiana University in 2000.
 
A certified genetic counselor since 2002, Meadow has worked in both the clinical and research fields of genetic counseling at the IHTC. As IHTC’s expertise is in genetic blood disorders, Meadow often counsels patients with a number of benign hematologic disorders and hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). She also works closely with the Hemangioma, Vascular, and Lymphatic Malformation (HVLM) Team, a division that focuses on the treatment of vascular and lymphatic disorders.
 
While Meadow did not set out on her genetic counseling career intending to specialize in hematology it is serendipitous. Her father’s friend had hemophilia and passed away when Meadow was in her early teens. Through her work with the hemophilia community, she has been able to reconnect with this friend’s family at a meeting of the National Hemophilia Foundation. 
 
Meadow’s personal history with genetic counseling has also helped when it comes to advocating for a patient’s need for seeing a CGC.
 
“I have sometimes felt that I may advocate for genetic counseling more heavily because of my personal experiences and the fact that there are some physicians out there who don’t have experience with a certified genetic counselor. Sometimes how much genetic counseling and whom we get to see depends on physicians as a gatekeeper. So, it’s important to remember that every time a physician has a good experience with a genetic counselor, it opens the door for the next genetic counselor.”