Mary Phelan, Ph.D.

Dr. Phelan received her undergraduate degree in biology from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, and her doctorate in human genetics from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. Following a two-year fellowship in cytogenetics at the Greenwood Genetic Center, she served as director of the cytogenetics lab in Greenwood for 17 years. While at Greenwood, Dr. Phelan developed an interest in microdeletion syndromes, particularly the 22q13 deletion syndrome, now known as Phelan-McDermid syndrome. From July 1999 through May 2004, she directed the Genetic Diagnostic Laboratory at T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital in Chattanooga, TN, and was appointed an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga. From June 2004 through December 2010, Dr. Phelan directed the Cytogenetics Laboratory at Molecular Pathology Laboratory Network in Maryville, TN. She is currently the director of the Cytogenetics Laboratory and associate professor of pediatrics at Tulane School of Medicine. She is certified by the American Board of Medical Genetics as a clinical cytogeneticist and Ph.D. medical geneticist, and she is a founding fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics.