Heather is a Professor in the Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research and Associate Director of the Division of Cancer Genomics at City of Hope National Cancer Center. Her research focuses on Lynch syndrome and universal tumor screening for Lynch syndrome. She has 170 publications on the prevalence of Lynch syndrome among colorectal and endometrial cancer patients, the best testing protocols, cost-effectiveness, and referral guidelines for cancer genetics. She was on the Board of Directors for the American Board of Genetic Counseling from 2006-2011, serving as President in 2009 and 2010. She has been on the Steering Committee of the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable since 2016. She was on the Council of the Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited Colorectal Cancer from 2016-2019, serving as president in 2017-2018. She was just elected Secretary/Treasurer-Elect of the National Society of Genetic Counselors with her term starting in 2021.

“Dennis was one of the kindest humans I have ever met. I met him through the Collaborative Group of the Americas for Inherited Colorectal Cancer and really got to know him when I joined the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable and began working with him on the Family History and Early-Onset CRC workgroup. He was completely devoted to improving the identification of individuals at high risk for colorectal cancer so they could benefit from earlier and more frequent colon screening. He thought about the important questions from every angle and inspired me to do the same. He asked me questions about my research that made me look at it in a different light and understand the not-so-obvious implications of my findings. He invited collaboration and input from everyone at the table. He had a smile that was contagious and such a positive outlook on life. He was one-of-a-kind and he will be missed.” -Heather Hampel