Rebecca Rae Anderson, JD, MS, CGC

Associate Professor

Vice Chair, Department of Health Promotion
University of Nebraska Medical Center
College of Public Health

Professional Summary

• 2007–present Associate Professor, UNMC COPH
• 2000–2007 Assistant & Associate Professor, COM Preventive & Societal Medicine
• 1985–present Genetic Counselor / Coordinator, UNMC Munroe Meyer Institute
• 1994–1997 Intellectual property attorney, Suiter & Associates PC, Omaha, NE
• 1978–1985 Committee Counsel & Legal Aide, Nebraska State Legislature
• 1978–1985 Associate attorney, Anderson Law Offices, Lincoln, NE

Education

• 1986, MS, Genetics, University of Nebraska Lincoln
• 1978, J.D., University of Nebraska College of Law
• 1975, B.A., Political Science & English, University of Nebraska Lincoln

Research interests

Anderson is an attorney and genetic counselor. She has served as a legislative staff member, practiced intellectual property law, and worked as a genetic counselor at Munroe Meyer Institute (UNMC) and Nebraska Methodist Hospital.

At the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Anderson serves on the Ethics Consultation Service, the Institutional Review Board, the Medical Ethics Committee, the Pandemic Triage and Altered Standards of Care working group, and the Conflict of Interest Committee. She is past chair of the governing faculty at UNMC’s College of Public Health.

Nationally, Anderson is a member of the Bioethics and Law work group of the Newborn Screening Translational Research Network. She is a medical consultant to the Sotos Syndrome Support Association. She chaired the Social, Ethical and Legal Issues Committee of the American College of Medical Genetics, and served on the board of the National Society of Genetic Counselors.

Her research interests include legal and ethical issues in clinical genetics; religious traditions and medical care; and medical jurisprudence / public health law.

Selected Publications

• Anderson R.  Religious Traditions (chapter 10) in Prenatal and Preimplantation Diagnosis (in press) Garst J, Verp M, eds.  Springer International
• Anderson R. Introduction to Clinical Ethics (chapter 1); Genetics and Patent Law (chapter 9) in Ethical Dilemmas in Genetics and Genetic Counseling (2014) Berliner J, ed. Oxford University Press
• Committee on Bioethics, Committee on Genetics, and The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues Committee. (Primary authors: Ross LF, Saal HM, David KL, Anderson RR.) Ethical and policy issues in genetic testing and screening of children. Pediatrics 2013; 131:620-622 published in advance online 21 February 2013
• Ross LF, Saal HM, David KL, Anderson RR. Technical report: ethical and policy issues in genetic testing and screening of children. Genet Med 15:234-245 (2013) published in advance online 21 February 2013
• Expert Commentary by Rebecca Anderson, J.D., MS, C.G.C. Warren N, A Genetic Counseling Toolkit, Testing Options, Interpretation and Risk Discussion. [ Website ](2011)
• Anderson R. Religious traditions and prenatal genetic counseling. Am J Med Genet Part C Semin Med Genet 151C:52-61 (2009)
• Anderson R, Haidle JL. Legal considerations in clinical cancer genetics. Community Oncology 3(2):100-104 (2006)
• Anderson R, Buehler B, Schaefer GB. Sotos Syndrome: A Handbook for Families, third edition Munroe Meyer Institute for Rehabilitative and Genetic Medicine, UNMC (2005) [French edition 2005; Spanish edition 2007; Portuguese edition 2013]
• Anderson R. Religious Traditions and Prenatal Genetic Counseling. Notebook format, Munroe Meyer Institute / UNMC, 196 p (2002)
  (To order, Contact Rebecca Anderson,[Email]. Cost: $10 plus shipping.)

Professional Affiliations

• American College of Medical Genetics
• National Society of Genetic Counselors
• Nebraska State Bar Association