Ms. Kelly Kohut

Kelly’s clinical specialty is cancer genomics. She has over 20 years’ experience in clinical genetic counselling practice, research and education.

Kelly is the Lead Consultant Genetic Counsellor for the South West Thames Centre for Genomics based at St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in London, UK. Kelly qualified as a Genetic Counsellor in 2004 with an MSc from Sarah Lawrence College in New York, following a BSc (honours) at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada (2002).

She is registered with the GCRAB (Genetic Counsellor Registration Accreditation Board) under the Professional Standards Authority, part of the Healthcare Science Practitioner Register held by the Academy for Healthcare Science (AHCS). Kelly has a  PhD in Health Sciences from the University of Southampton (2025). Her doctoral studies were funded by Cancer Research UK as part of the CanGene-CanVar programme. Her research interests explore personalised risk communication and shared decision-making about genetic cancer risk management.

Her project invovled codesign of a personalised digital decision support intervention, partnering with a large international expert partner group including patient and public involvement (PPI). Awards include a Doctoral College Director’s Award for Public Engagement (2022), an Innovate Award for Excellence in Patient and Public Involvement in Transformation and Innovation from the Academic Health Science Network and the NHS Confederation (2023), the Lynch Syndrome UK Researcher of the Year Award (2024), a Macmillan Professionals Excellence Awards for Integration (2024) and several travel and PPI grants.

Kelly previously worked at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Canada, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York and St Bartholomew’s Hospital/Queen Mary University of London and The Royal Marsden in London, UK.

Kelly was elected as General Secretary for the European Hereditary Tumour Board in 2023 and serves on the Programme Committee. She is the past Chair of the Lead Genetic Counsellor Group for the UK and Ireland. Kelly is a member of the British Society for Genomic Medicine, UK Cancer Genetics Group and the Association of Genetic Nurse Counsellors. She is the author of several publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Kelly serves as an invited reviewer for many journals and a presenter for podcasts and international conferences. Kelly is an assessor for the National School of Healthcare Sciences and GCRAB. She serves on several advisory panels for research grants, charities and student projects.