Yifei Sylvia Lin, ScM, LGC
Board-certified & Maryland-licensed genetic counselor
Sylvia graduated from the Johns Hopkins University / National Institutes of Health Genetic Counseling Training Program in December 2023 and has three years of clinical experience in prenatal genetics, cancer genetics, and pediatric and adult general genetics.
Her experience working in both top academic centers and community hospitals — together with her multinational upbringing and lived experiences — has equipped her with the curiosity, open-mindedness, flexibility, and resilience to meet each patient where they are.
She is passionate about expanding genetic counseling services to underserved individuals worldwide and providing compassionate, patient-centered support that helps patients and health systems navigate — and be empowered by — genetic information, and that improves both physical and mental health outcomes.
Schedule a consultationHow I think about this work
Genetic counseling is a partnership. I bring the science; you bring your values, your history, and your goals. Good decisions come from both.
Language and culture shape how families talk about health, illness, and inheritance. Offering care directly in Mandarin, without an interpreter in between, is one of the reasons I started this practice.
Information should empower, not overwhelm. I aim for every patient to leave a session understanding what we discussed, what it means for them, and what — if anything — they want to do next.
Clinical & research background
- 2025 – presentGenetic Counselor & InstructorUniversity of Maryland Medical Center — pediatric, adult, cardiovascular, and cancer genetics; My Healthy Maryland population genomic screening program; co-director of “Research for Genetic Counselors”
- 2024 – 2025Maternal-Fetal Medicine Genetic CounselorMedStar Health — prenatal risk assessment, screening and diagnostic testing in high-risk pregnancy
- 2024Cancer Genetic CounselorJohns Hopkins Hospital — hereditary cancer risk assessment and testing
- 2021 – 2024Pre-doctoral Research FellowNational Human Genome Research Institute (NIH) — NHGRI-funded thesis on polygenic risk scores and equity in cancer genetic counseling
- 2022 – 2023Genetic Counseling InternNational Cancer Institute; Brigham and Women’s Hospital / Harvard Medical School (Genomes2People)
Selected publications & presentations
Sylvia’s research focuses on health equity in clinical genomics — in particular, how patient race and polygenic risk scores influence genetic counselors’ risk assessment and recommendations.
- Lin YS, Persky S, Wojcik G, Helzlsouer K. The impact of patient race and polygenic risk scores on cancer genetic counselors’ risk assessment and management in breast cancer clinical vignettes. Presented at ELSIcon 2024 (New York) and the ACMG Annual Meeting 2025 (Los Angeles); manuscript in preparation.
- Zhao Y, Zheng Z, Zhang Z, Hillpot E, Lin YS, et al. Evolution of high-molecular-mass hyaluronic acid is associated with subterranean lifestyle. Nature Communications. 2023;14:8054.
- Wojdak C, Silvey P, Coykendall C, Lin YS, et al. Indicators of self-determination in therapeutic songwriting lyrics created by adults with high LDL cholesterol. Journal of Music Therapy. 2023;60(2):149–174.
- McIntosh S, Coykendall C, Lin YS, et al. Patient voice and health education for familial hypercholesterolaemia. Health Education Journal. 2022;81(2):123–133.
- Zhao Y, Oreskovic E, Zhang Q, Lu Q, Gilman A, Lin YS, et al. Transposon-triggered innate immune response confers cancer resistance to the blind mole rat. Nature Immunology. 2021;22(10):1219–1230.
Course co-director for “Research for Genetic Counselors” and clinical supervisor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore; mentor to undergraduate and master’s students pursuing genetic counseling since 2022.
Ready to talk?
Book an appointment online or send a message with your questions. I typically respond within two business days.