Coordinator of Education,

Referral, and Advocacy

Cate Walsh Vockley, MS, CGC is NNPDF's Coordinator of Education, Referral, and Advocacy.  Cate is a board certified genetic counselor at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.  She has been involved with the Niemann-Pick community for a number of years, beginning with her role in the Mayo Clinic project on DNA analysis of the NPC1 and NPC2 genes. 

Cate obtained her Master of Science degree in genetic counseling from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in 1986. This education provided a unique combination of knowledge about the scientific and medical aspects of hereditary disease while also emphasizing the psychological effects of such diagnoses.  Her major areas of interest include inherited metabolic disorders, hereditary cancer conditions, and ethical and psychosocial aspects of human genetics.

Cate has worked in Denver, at Yale University, at the Mayo Clinic, and now at Children’s in Pittsburgh. She has always seen herself as an advocate for patients and families, whether working to educate about new diagnoses, obtain appropriate health care, respite care, or insurance coverage, or in working for support for continuing research.

Cate has worked in a multidisciplinary metabolic disease clinic, providing ongoing education, counseling and support for families as they have dealt with the challenges of a chronic medical condition in a loved one. Through this work, she has developed a relationship with a national network of health care providers with expertise in metabolic disease diagnosis and management. This serves as an excellent resource as we strive to quickly identify experienced providers and obtain prompt diagnoses for individuals.

Cate has also been involved in developing programs at the institutional, state, and national levels for providing and improving services to families, including recent work on the Minnesota planning grant for follow up of newborn screening across the state. The skills developed through these efforts will assist her as she develops new programs and resources for individuals affected by Niemann-Pick disease and for their families and supporters.

Contact information:

Cate Walsh Vockley, MS, CGC

Coordinator of Education, Referral and Advocacy

National Niemann-Pick Disease Foundation

Senior Genetic Counselor

Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh

3705 Fifth Avenue

Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Phone: 412-692-7349

Fax: 412-692-7073

E-mail: catherine.walshvockley@chp.edu

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