Luba Djurdjinovic, program director of Ferre Institute Inc's Genetic Counseling Program in Binghamton, New York, was presented with the 2005 Art of Listening Award from the Genetic Alliance.

It's a quaint little setup: two houses sitting shoulder-to-shoulder on Front Street in Binghamton ,two addresses with front doors opening to two halves of the same operation.

And its nondescript appearance belies the Ferre Institute Inc's function. It's a gateway to some of the most cutting-edge science going on this millennium.

The humble demeanor of Executive Director Luba Djurdjinovic gives no hint of her role with others at the forefront of the genetic revolution.

As far as she knows, Ferre offers the only community-based genetic counseling service in the United States . More than 10,000 families have been served since Ferre began in Utica a quarter-century ago.

At its inception a nonprofit group formed in response to the need for infertility services, it now also offers genetic counseling and family-building here and in three other offices in upstate New York .

Sharon Terry is the head of the Washington, D.C.-based Genetic Alliance, a coalition of more than 600 disease advocacy groups, which recently awarded Djurdjinovic its 2005 Art of Listening Award.

Terry said Djurdjinovic has the ability to make the complexities of the genetics field understandable to those who need its resources. “She's one of the most caring, compassionate genetic counselors there is,” she says.

Genetics jargon isn't comprehensible to a large segment of the population. Mark Kedmon Roth, of Binghamton , had no idea what a teratogen was before he became a Ferre employee. Now he's a tertogen information specialist for Ferre's Pregnancy Risk Network.

Teratogens, he explains, are environmental agents that can cause birth defects. People call on him when they're concerned, for example about drugs or workplace hazards that they fear could adversely affect their pregnancies.

He first met Djurdjinovic when she was a regular customer at a restaurant he owned at the time, The Copper Cricket in Binghamton . Now that he regularly sees her in a professional context, he realizes the scope of her influence and the depth of her commitment to genetic research.

“She's friends with people involved in the Genome Project,” he says.

She was, in fact, a research investigator for the National Center Human Genome Research.

The curriculum vitae list of her professional affiliations and projects spans several pages.

Dr. Rajesh Dave, local neonatologist and chief medical officer at United Health Services and dean of its clinical campus, can't say enough about Djurdjinovic and her work.

“Since (she began her career), the genetic revolution started and now we're looking at the genetic and biological basis of heart disease and cancer,” he says. “Now it's in every aspect of the body, not just involving a mother and child.”

Djurdjinovic provides a bridge not only for consumers to access such services but also for health care professionals to understand the emerging science of genetics and its application to their patients. Dave is aware of many cases she has been involved with, including that of the Conger family.

Cliff Conger was born with seldom-seen cardio-facio-cutaneous syndrome.

His mother, Brenda, began an international support group for families of similarly affected children. Djurdjinovic support ed Conger throughout her pregnancy and the ensuing years, and most recently in Conger's involvement with starting a national bio-bank of DNA for genetic research.

That, Dave says, is extraordinary.

“It's extremely unique,” he says. “If I go out and talk to people in my field (about the women's efforts), they'd be blown away. It's absolutely astounding.”

Djurdjinovic lectures widely and is a nationally recognized expert in genetic counseling. She rubs elbows regularly with other leading names in the field.

I feel very lucky to live in this community,” she says with typical reticence. “I could never have done what I was fortunate enough to do if it were not for the families and the physicians we've worked with here.”

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