About

MaryAnn Campion is a Professor (Teaching) of Genetics at Stanford University. She is a licensed and board certified genetic counselor, serving as co-director of the MS Program in Human Genetics and Genetic Counseling within the Department of Genetics. Her primary research interests include genetics education, genetic counseling access, service delivery, psychosocial assessment, and professional development, faculty vitality, and burnout. Prior to her tenure at Stanford, she was the founding director of the Master’s Program in Genetic Counseling and served as Assistant Dean in the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences at Boston University School of Medicine. Her clinical career has focused on prenatal genetic counseling, with experience at the Greenwood Genetic Center, Boston Medical Center, and the Stanford Center for Down Syndrome. She has contributed to national committees for the American Board of Genetic Counseling, the Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling, and the Association of Genetic Counseling Program Directors, and served on the Board of Directors for the National Society of Genetic Counselors from 2015 to 2017.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Psychology
• Clinical psychology
• Computer Science
• Psychiatry
• Social psychology
• Internal medicine
• Family medicine
• Human–computer interaction
• Medical education
• Biology

Selected publications

• The Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Burnout in Clinical Genetic Counselors: A Three-Arm Randomized Controlled Trial

  medRxiv · 2026-01-16

  articleOpen access

  Burnout is common among genetic counselors (GCs). Clinician burnout has been found to adversely affect individual well-being, patient care, and likelihood of staying in a role. Both individual and systems solutions are needed to address clinician burnout. Mindfulness meditation (MM) is one individual-level solution that has shown promise for reducing burnout in other clinicians but has not been studied in GCs. We conducted a decentralized, parallel, three-arm randomized controlled trial comparing MM to a novel active control meditation (ACM) and a no-meditation control (NMC), with 1:1:1 randomization. Participants were clinical GCs in the US. MM and ACM participants were asked to do 10 minutes of daily app-based meditation for 8 weeks. ACM was designed to control for non-specific aspects of MM by mimicking MM length and structure without including mindfulness techniques. The primary outcome, burnout, was assessed using the Professional Fulfillment Index. Secondary outcomes included other indicators of professional well-being, such as stress and professional fulfillment. Outcomes were assessed via an intention-to-treat approach, with multiple imputation for missing outcome data. Outcome analyses controlled for baseline trait mindfulness. 397 participants (mean age 33 years; 97.7% female, 94.2% White) were randomized, and 76% completed post-intervention outcome measures. There was no difference in burnout reduction between MM and ACM groups (p = 0.44). However, multiple measures suggest that ACM did not perform well as an inert active meditation control, thus the primary hypothesis could not be effectively tested. In pre-planned secondary analyses, MM reduced burnout (Cohen's d = -0.84, p < 0.001) compared to NMC, a passive control. Similar results were seen for stress. These findings suggest MM may be beneficial for GC professional well-being; however, further research on MM for GCs is needed with more diverse study samples and better active controls.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Characterizing psychosocial assessments across genetic counseling sessions through qualitative content analysis

  Journal of Genetic Counseling · 2026-01-04

  articleOpen access

  Although psychosocial support and assessment is a required competency of genetic counselors (GCs), how the psychosocial assessment is actualized in sessions is not well studied. We aimed to describe the landscape of psychosocial assessments in clinical genetic counseling sessions at a single institution through direct analysis of audio recordings. Clinical GCs at Stanford Medicine and their new English-speaking adult patients were eligible. After GCs and patients completed demographic surveys, we audio-recorded sessions for which the GCs and patients enrolled. Purposive sampling, prioritizing a breadth of GCs, specialties, indications, and patient demographics, was used to select audio recordings for transcription and analysis. We used a blended inductive and deductive approach to develop the codebook. Code frequency and memos were assessed for descriptive content analysis of psychosocial components of the sessions. We analyzed 23 audio recordings, representing nine GCs across cancer, cardiology, and prenatal. We identified three distinct psychosocial styles that GCs used: "Direct," "Informational," "Casual." While all styles incorporated emotion-focused conversation to some degree, only the "Direct Psychosocial Style" included an explicit psychosocial assessment of patients. Psychosocial assessments consisted of direct feelings questions, emotion-focused responses, and advanced empathy. The "Informational Psychosocial Style" was characterized by GC responses to patient feelings and sympathy statements, without consistent exploration of patient feelings throughout the session. The "Casual Psychosocial Style" was characterized by an observable rapport between the GC and patient that carried throughout the session, allowing for psychosocial issues to be explored organically. GCs varied in their use of each style across patients, specialty, and indication. In conclusion, we observed three distinct psychosocial styles, of which only the Direct Psychosocial Style had an overt psychosocial assessment. Further research is needed to examine patient outcomes within each style.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A qualitative interview study of medical genetics and genomics residents' perspectives on race, ethnicity, and racism in clinical settings and their related gaps in knowledge: “It's just taboo. Nobody talks about it.”

  Journal of Genetic Counseling · 2026-04-30

  article

  Medical genetics and genomics (MGG) is one of many clinical specialties impacted by racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare access, experience, and outcomes. We explored US MGG residents' perceived gaps in knowledge regarding race and ethnicity related issues in clinical settings and their recommendations for supporting trainees in navigating such issues. From November 2022 to March 2023, US MGG residents were recruited for semi-structured interviews via email and social media. Using inductive coding reliability thematic analysis, key themes were identified and interpreted: (1) there is a lack of formal education on race and ethnicity related issues tailored to MGG residency curricula; (2) MGG residents struggle with implementing culturally informed genetic counseling and combating racial/ethnic prejudice in their clinical practice; (3) formal education on race and ethnicity related issues in MGG should be interactive, collaborative, and accessible to providers at all levels of training. Our findings highlight potential areas for improvement that may aid MGG providers and other medical specialties in delivering more just and equitable clinical care.

  PublisherDOI

• Decision making of male same-sex couples pursuing pregnancy via assisted reproductive technology: a qualitative study

  F&S Reports · 2025-05-22

  articleOpen access

  Objective: To explore the decision-making of male same-sex couples when selecting sperm, donor eggs, and embryo(s) to transfer when using assisted reproductive technology (ART). Design: Qualitative. Subjects: Twenty participants: 8 successfully achieved pregnancy via ART, and 12 were actively pursuing pregnancy. Most participants were gay, White, cisgender men. Exposure: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Reflexive thematic analysis of interview transcripts. Results: Four themes related to the decision-making processes of male same-sex couples using ART were conceptualized from the data and included desire for actual or perceived genetic relatedness, actual or perceived risk mitigation, desire for control, and financial cost. Many couples preferred using ART because both partners wanted to contribute sperm to fertilize donor eggs. Couples often preferred using the same egg donor if they wanted more than one child, and many couples wanted to achieve a blended family by using an egg donor who looked like one or both partners. Many couples made decisions, such as genetically testing embryos or transferring a single embryo into a gestational carrier, on the basis of increasing the chances of a healthy pregnancy. Some couples wanted more control during the process; thus, they made decisions regarding sex selection because they had the option to. The high financial cost of ART was the largest barrier for many couples, causing many to make sacrifices to mitigate cost. Conclusion: Decision-making of male same-sex couples pursuing ART is complex and unique to each couple. There are many stages throughout the process that require complicated decision-making; however, decisions are often shaped by the desire for genetic relatedness, risk reduction, control, and financial costs. Male same-sex couples often must make decisions without evidence-based medicine; thus, better clinical guidance is needed to allow reproductive experts to facilitate these delicate conversations and improve the experience of intended parents. The high cost makes the process more difficult for many couples, requiring many to make sacrifices and leaving many unable to pursue ART to build their families. Better insurance coverage needs to be made available to improve care for this marginalized patient population.

  PublisherDOI

• P830: Who are we missing: Examining health insurance coverage for expanded carrier screening

  Genetics in Medicine Open · 2025-01-01

  articleOpen access

  Introduction: Despite a wealth of studies examining the barriers of expanded carrier screening (ECS) implementation and usage, there is limited research on the impact of health insurance coverage policies on patients' access to carrier screening.Our study aimed to examine the effect of coverage criteria utilized by payors on the detection of an individual's carrier status.Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of patients and their reproductive partners at a single institution who had a positive carrier screening result to collect demographic information, carrier screening results, and family medical history.Demographic information included patient reported sex, ethnicity, and gravida.We estimated the proportion of individuals who would not have met health insurance coverage criteria for carrier screening that would detect their full carrier status based on policies used by major payors in the State of California.We defined full carrier status as the conditions an individual tested positive as being a heterozygote for ECS.Results: The positive yield of ECS in our study population was 48% (657/1358).Of the positive participants, 93% would not have had their full carrier status detected if carrier screening following health insurance coverage policies was elected in lieu of ECS.The ethnicity groups with the highest proportion of participants who would not have their carrier status detected were East Asian (94%) and White (94%), followed by South Asian (93%) and South Asian (93%).Conclusion: Our review of health insurance policies in California revealed payors generally rely on ethnicity and family history to determine what type of carrier screening a policyholder is eligible for, therefore missing a significant portion of people who are carriers for genetic conditions.Previous studies have consistently demonstrated that patients misidentify their ethnicity or ancestry and report incomplete family health histories.Our study shows that the criteria used by payors to determine what type of screening is covered for policyholders leads to insufficient and inequitable carrier screening strategies.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Knowledge and attitudes on implementing cardiovascular pharmacogenomic testing

  Clinical and Translational Science · 2024-02-29 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  Pharmacogenomics has the potential to inform drug dosing and selection, reduce adverse events, and improve medication efficacy; however, provider knowledge of pharmacogenomic testing varies across provider types and specialties. Given that many actionable pharmacogenomic genes are implicated in cardiovascular medication response variability, this study aimed to evaluate cardiology providers' knowledge and attitudes on implementing clinical pharmacogenomic testing. Sixty-one providers responded to an online survey, including pharmacists (46%), physicians (31%), genetic counselors (15%), and nurses (8%). Most respondents (94%) reported previous genetics education; however, only 52% felt their genetics education prepared them to order a clinical pharmacogenomic test. In addition, most respondents (66%) were familiar with pharmacogenomics, with genetic counselors being most likely to be familiar (p < 0.001). Only 15% of respondents had previously ordered a clinical pharmacogenomic test and a total of 36% indicated they are likely to order a pharmacogenomic test in the future; however, the vast majority of respondents (89%) were interested in pharmacogenomic testing being incorporated into diagnostic cardiovascular genetic tests. Moreover, 84% of providers preferred pharmacogenomic panel testing compared to 16% who preferred single gene testing. Half of the providers reported being comfortable discussing pharmacogenomic results with their patients, but the majority (60%) expressed discomfort with the logistics of test ordering. Reported barriers to implementation included uncertainty about the clinical utility and difficulty choosing an appropriate test. Taken together, cardiology providers have moderate familiarity with pharmacogenomics and limited experience with test ordering; however, they are interested in incorporating pharmacogenomics into diagnostic genetic tests and ordering pharmacogenomic panels.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• P857: Medical genetics and genomics residents’ perceptions of their gaps in knowledge regarding the clinical intersections of race and racism*

  Genetics in Medicine Open · 2024-01-01

  articleOpen access

  The field of genetics and genomics, like many areas of medicine, has a history of racial injustice and racism. One factor that has reinforced this injustice is the continued role of racism and racialized structures in shaping how providers conduct clinical research and practice. Despite there being recent calls for the field to enact antiracist reforms to confront its history of racism and eugenics and reinforcement of sociopolitical disparities in health and education, limited data exist on medical genetics residents’ perspectives on their preparedness for confronting racial issues in clinical practice.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Assessing and attending to psychosocial concerns in genetic counseling: Proposing the BATHE method

  Journal of Genetic Counseling · 2024-11-13 · 2 citations

  article

  The process of identifying and responding to patients' social, emotional, and psychological concerns is a required skill for training and practicing genetic counselors. Patients' health outcomes are improved when genetic counselors attend to these "psychosocial" concerns. Still, the process of eliciting, assessing, and attending to patients' psychosocial concerns in the genetic counseling setting is not well defined in the literature nor is it performed consistently. Tools that do exist are often questionnaire-based, designed for research use, or occur outside of a genetic counseling appointment. Here we describe the complexities of defining "psychosocial assessment" in genetic counseling, its impact on patient outcomes, and summarize existing tools for psychosocial assessment. We identify a need for evidenced-based, verbally-administered psychosocial assessment tools in genetic counseling and explore the value of adapting an existing tool from primary care (the BATHE method) to genetic counseling. The BATHE method is a semi-structured psychosocial assessment tool that can be performed quickly within a patient appointment to gather context, emotional impact, the patient's primary concern, and coping strategies. Through our professional experiences we believe it is a beneficial psychosocial assessment tool as perceived by both patients and genetic counselors. Further work is needed to determine if the BATHE method could fill a gap in how genetic counselors conduct a psychosocial assessment.

  PublisherDOI

• Molecular testing in newborn screening: VUS burden among true positives and secondary reproductive limitations via expanded carrier screening panels

  Genetics in Medicine · 2023-12-23 · 16 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Contributors to and consequences of burnout among clinical genetic counselors in the United States

  Journal of Genetic Counseling · 2021 · 37 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Clinical psychology
  • Medicine
  • Psychology

  Prior research has found that many genetic counselors (GCs) experience burnout. Studies of other clinicians have demonstrated that burnout can have significant detrimental consequences for clinicians, patients, and the healthcare system. We sought to explore the prevalence of, contributors to, and consequences of burnout among GCs. We performed a secondary data analysis of baseline data from Me-GC, a randomized controlled trial of meditation for GCs. We applied a systems model of burnout proposed by the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), which depicts burnout arising from a combination of contributors that include both work system and individual mediating factors, and then leading to consequences. Validated self-report scales were used to measure burnout and most contributors and consequences. Female and white GCs were over-represented in our sample. Over half (57.2%) of the 397 participants had Professional Fulfillment Index scores indicative of burnout. Multiple potential contributors were associated with burnout, consistent with its known multifactorial nature. Among work system factors, higher levels of burnout were associated with insufficient administrative support, lack of autonomy, and not feeling valued by non-GC colleagues. Individual mediating factors associated with greater burnout included higher levels of anxiety, depression, and stress. Participants with lower levels of burnout reported greater mindfulness, resilience, and use of professional self-care behaviors. Among variables categorized as consequences, higher levels of burnout were associated with lower levels of empathy, counseling alliance, and positive unconditional regard, as well as higher reactive distress, and a greater desire to reduce the amount of time spent on clinical care. Given the prevalence and potential consequences of burnout observed here, it is imperative that the field take steps to mitigate burnout risk.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Piloting a standardized psychosocial assessment tool (BATHE) in genetic counseling

  NIH · $590k · 2022–2026

Frequent coauthors

• Laurel Calderwood

  Stanford Medicine

  4 shared

• Jehannine Austin

  University of British Columbia

  3 shared

• Michael K. Paasche‐Orlow

  Tufts Medical Center

  3 shared

• Timothy Bickmore

  2 shared

• Christina G. Tise

  Stanford University

  2 shared

• Melanie F. Myers

  University of Cincinnati

  2 shared

• Robert J. Hopkin

  University of Cincinnati Medical Center

  2 shared

• Justin Gomez‐Stafford

  Boston Children's Hospital

  2 shared

Labs

• Master's Program in Human Genetics and Genetic CounselingPI