Genetic testing is reshaping how we assess and manage breast cancer risk—but applying it in practice can be nuanced. Join Dr. Allison Kurian for a focused, clinically relevant overview of who to test, how to interpret results, and how to translate genetic insights into personalized risk reduction strategies. This session will highlight current guidelines, evolving evidence beyond BRCA, and practical approaches to counseling patients on screening and prevention options across risk levels.

Allison W. Kurian, MD, MSc, is a Professor of Medicine and of Epidemiology and Population Health at Stanford University. She is the Associate Chief of the Division of Oncology, Director of the Stanford Women’s Clinical Cancer Genetics Program, Co-Leader of the Population Sciences Program, and Co-Director of the Data Science Core for the Stanford Cancer Institute. Dr. Kurian graduated from Stanford University, attended Harvard Medical School, followed by Internal Medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, and completed Medical Oncology fellowship and a master’s degree in Epidemiology at Stanford University.

Dr. Kurian’s research focuses on the identification of women with elevated breast and gynecologic cancer risk, and on the development and evaluation of novel techniques for early cancer detection and risk reduction. As an oncologist and epidemiologist, she aims to understand the cancer burden and improve the quality of cancer treatment at the population level. Her research employs methods from the population sciences, in collaboration with the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program and other large, real-world data resources. Dr. Kurian leads epidemiologic studies of cancer risk factors, clinical trials of novel approaches to cancer risk reduction, and decision analyses of strategies to improve cancer outcomes. She has published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles, and grants from the National Institutes of Health, the California Breast Cancer Research Program, the Komen for the Cure Foundation, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and others have supported her research. Dr. Kurian’s work has been honored by the Impact Awards of the National Consortium of Breast Centers and the BRCA Foundation, selection as a Komen Scholar, and election to the American Society of Clinical Investigation.