Jennie Vagher
( out of 53 reviews )

Jennie Vagher, CGC

Languages spoken: English

Clinical Locations

Huntsman Cancer Institute - Cancer Hospital South

Clinic 2B, Genetics/Family Cancer Assessment
Salt Lake City
801-587-9555

  • Jennie Vagher, CGC, is a board-certified genetic counselor who graduated from the University of Utah's Genetics Program in Genetic Counseling. Since joining the Family Cancer Assessment Clinic at Huntsman Cancer Institute in 2017, she has established herself as an expert in rare cancer predisposition syndromes. She currently co-directs the Pediatric and Rare Tumor Clinic and oversees rare tumor syndrome care at HCI, with particular expertise in Li-Fraumeni and DICER1 syndromes.

    Jennie led the development of both the pediatric and adult Bone Marrow Failure programs for patients with inherited Bone Marrow Failure syndromes and other predispositions to hematologic malignancies. She has a specific interest in telomere biology disorders and collaborates with the Division of Pulmonology at the University of Utah to provide genetic evaluation to patients with interstitial lung diseases. As Senior Manager of Genetic Counseling Research, she also contributes to advancing knowledge in the field through research initiatives.

    Jennie provides comprehensive genetic counseling services to patients across Utah, including those seen at Primary Children's Hospital and LDS Hospital. Her research and clinical work have been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, furthering the understanding and management of rare cancer predisposition syndromes.

    She works closely with Dr. Luke Maese, Dr. Casey Mehrhoff and Dr. Joshua Schiffman in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Dr. Mary Beth Scholand in the Division of Pulmonology, and Dr. Srinivas Tantravahi, Dr. Afaf Osman, and Dr. Richard King in Division of Hematology.

    Specialties

    Board Certification

    American Board of Genetic Counseling

    Patient Rating

    5.0 /5
    ( out of 53 reviews )

    The patient rating score is an average of all responses on our patient experience survey. The rating averages scores for all questions about care from our providers.

    The scale on which responses are measured is 1 to 5 with 5 being the best score.

    Patient Comments

    Patient comments are gathered from our patient experience survey and displayed in their entirety. For the convenience of our visitors, some patient comments have been translated from their original language into English while preserving their original meaning as accurately as possible. Patients are de-identified for confidentiality and patient privacy.

    February 17, 2025
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Jennie was so kind and easy to talk with about the test results. I learned a lot from her.

    January 14, 2025
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Jennie is amazing! She is kind and attentive. Most of all she does her best to see that all matters for you are taken care of.

    December 21, 2024
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Very professional & pleasant to talk to

    November 22, 2024
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    She was so sweet and bonded with our daughter immediately. She asked us a lot of history and answered all our questions. She made us feel safe and reassured in this scary time.

    November 10, 2024
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Jennie was wonderful - empathetic, thoughtful, and knowledgeable.

    November 01, 2024
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Jennie took a personal interest in our family genetics and is aggressive in connecting as many dots together as possible. She is detailed and thorough.

    May 23, 2024
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    She's a friendly and caring person who also is a very good explainer.

    April 21, 2024
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Jennie has an exceptional gift of being able to teach the patient about their care and the benefits that will come in the future for the patient and generations to come.

    April 13, 2024
    HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER

    Ms. Vagher was relaxed and open and very helpful explaining to us what we wanted to kno.

    See More Patient Comments

  • Jennie Vagher, CGC, is a board-certified genetic counselor who graduated from the University of Utah's Genetics Program in Genetic Counseling. Since joining the Family Cancer Assessment Clinic at Huntsman Cancer Institute in 2017, she has established herself as an expert in rare cancer predisposition syndromes. She currently co-directs the Pediatric and Rare Tumor Clinic and oversees rare tumor syndrome care at HCI, with particular expertise in Li-Fraumeni and DICER1 syndromes.

    Jennie led the development of both the pediatric and adult Bone Marrow Failure programs for patients with inherited Bone Marrow Failure syndromes and other predispositions to hematologic malignancies. She has a specific interest in telomere biology disorders and collaborates with the Division of Pulmonology at the University of Utah to provide genetic evaluation to patients with interstitial lung diseases. As Senior Manager of Genetic Counseling Research, she also contributes to advancing knowledge in the field through research initiatives.

    Jennie provides comprehensive genetic counseling services to patients across Utah, including those seen at Primary Children's Hospital and LDS Hospital. Her research and clinical work have been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, furthering the understanding and management of rare cancer predisposition syndromes.

    She works closely with Dr. Luke Maese, Dr. Casey Mehrhoff and Dr. Joshua Schiffman in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Dr. Mary Beth Scholand in the Division of Pulmonology, and Dr. Srinivas Tantravahi, Dr. Afaf Osman, and Dr. Richard King in Division of Hematology.

    Board Certification and Academic Information

    Academic Departments Huntsman Cancer Institute -Midlevel
    Internal Medicine -Adjunct Assistant Professor
    Academic Divisions Oncology
    Board Certification
    American Board of Genetic Counseling

    Selected Publications

    Journal Article

    1. Wen T, Boyden SE, Hocutt CM, Lewis RG, Baldwin EE, Vagher J, Andrews A, Nicholas TJ, Chapin A, Fan EM, Botto LD, Bayrak-Toydemir P, Mao R, Meznarich J (2025). Identification of two novel non-coding variants in Diamond-Blackfan Anemia Syndrome patients by whole genome sequencing. Blood Adv. (Read full article)
    2. Beigh M, Vagher J, Codden R, Maese LD, Cook S, Gammon A (2024). Newborn Screening for Li-Fraumeni Syndrome: Patient Perspectives. (Read full article)
    3. Fan EM, Vagher J, Meznarich JA, Ubico EM, Goteti S, Peterson D, Rayes A, Maese LD (2023). Severe congenital neutropenia, SRP54 pathogenicity, and a framework for surveillance. Am J Med Genet A, 191(5), 1434-1441. (Read full article)
    4. Harriman JW, Espinel WF, Vagher J, Gammon A (2022). BRCA1/2 Variants Identified Through Tumor Genomic Profiling: Assessing Genetic Counseling Outcomes. JCO Precis Oncol, 6, e2100375. (Read full article)
    5. Li P, Brown S, Williams M, White TA, Xie W, Cui W, Peker D, Lei L, Kunder CA, Wang HY, Murray SS, Vagher J, Kovacsovics T, Patel JL (2022). The genetic landscape of germline DDX41 variants predisposing to myeloid neoplasms. Blood, 140, 716-755. (Read full article)
    6. Maxwell KN, Cheng HH, Powers J, Gulati R, Ledet EM, Morrison C, Le A, Hausler R, Stopfer J, Hyman S, Kohlmann W, Naumer A, Vagher J, Greenberg SE, Naylor L, Laurino M, Konnick EQ, Shirts BH, AlDubayan SH, Van Allen EM, Nguyen B, Vijai J, Abida W, Carlo MI, Dubard-Gault M, Lee DJ, Maese LD, Mandelker D, Montgomery B, Morris MJ, Nicolosi P, Nussbaum RL, Schwartz LE, Stadler Z, Garber JE, Offit K, Schiffman JD, Nelson PS, Sartor O, Walsh MF, Pritchard CC (2021). Inherited TP53 Variants and Risk of Prostate Cancer. Eur Urol, 81, 243-250. (Read full article)
    7. Iglesias Cardenas F, Agarwal AM, Vagher J, Maese L, Fluchel M, Afify Z (2020). Two Clonally Distinct B-Cell Lymphomas Reveal the Diagnosis of XLP1 in a Male Child and His Asymptomatic Male Relatives: Case Report and Review of the Literature. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol, 43(8), e1210-e1213. (Read full article)
    8. Thomsen W, Maese L, Vagher J, Moore K, Cheshier SH, Hofmann JW, Bruggers C (2022). Early Presentation of Homozygous Mismatch Repair Deficient Glioblastoma in Teen With Lynch Syndrome: Implications for Treatment and Surveillance. JCO Precis Oncol, 5, 670-675. (Read full article)
    9. Li P, White T, Xie W, Cui W, Peker D, Zeng G, Wang HY, Vagher J, Brown S, Williams M, Kovacsovics T, Patel JL (2021). AML with germline DDX41 variants is a clinicopathologically distinct entity with an indolent clinical course and favorable outcome. Leukemia, 36, 664-674. (Read full article)
    10. Chavez-Yenter D, Vagher J, Clayton MF, Rindler M, Shukovich M, Kaphingst KA (2021). "Being proactive, not reactive": exploring perceptions of genetic testing among White, Latinx, and Pacific Islander Populations. J Community Genet, 12(4), 617-630. (Read full article)
    11. Maxwell KN, Cheng HH, Powers J, Gulati R, Ledet EM, Morrison C, Le A, Hausler R, Stopfer J, Hyman S, Kohlmann W, Naumer A, Vagher J, Greenberg SE, Naylor L, Laurino M, Konnick EQ, Shirts BH, AlDubayan SH, Van Allen EM, Nguyen B, Vijai J, Abida W, Carlo MI, Dubard-Gault M, Lee DJ, Maese LD, Mandelker D, Montgomery B, Morris MJ, Nicolosi P, Nussbaum RL, Schwartz LE, Stadler Z, Garber JE, Offit K, Schiffman JD, Nelson PS, Sartor O, Walsh MF, Pritchard CC (2021). Inherited TP53 Variants and Risk of Prostate Cancer. Eur Urol. (Read full article)
    12. Landrith T, Li B, Cass AA, Conner BR, LaDuca H, McKenna DB, Maxwell KN, Domchek S, Morman NA, Heinlen C, Wham D, Koptiuch C, Vagher J, Rivera R, Bunnell A, Patel G, Geurts JL, Depas MM, Gaonkar S, Pirzadeh-Miller S, Krukenberg R, Seidel M, Pilarski R, Farmer M, Pyrtel K, Milliron K, Lee J, Hoodfar E, Nathan D, Ganzak AC, Wu S, Vuong H, Xu D, Arulmoli A, Parra M, Hoang L, Molparia B, Fennessy M, Fox S, Charpentier S, Burdette J, Pesaran T, Profato J, Smith B, Haynes G, Dalton E, Crandall JRR, Baxter R, Lu HM, Tippin-Davis B, Elliott A, Chao E, Karam R (2020). Splicing profile by capture RNA-seq identifies pathogenic germline variants in tumor suppressor genes. NPJ Precis Oncol, 4(1). (Read full article)
    13. Himes DO, Vagher J (2020). Patient With Questions About Cancer Risk. Eur Urol, 16(7), e109-e112. (Read full article)
    14. Moody EW, Vagher J, Espinel W, Goldgar D, Hagerty KJ, Gammon A (2022). Comparison of Somatic and Germline Variant Interpretation in Hereditary Cancer Genes. JCO Precis Oncol, 3, 1-8. (Read full article)

    Review

    1. Vagher J, Mehrhoff CJ, Florou V, Maese LD (2024). Genetic Predisposition to Sarcoma: What Should Clinicians Know? [Review]. Curr Treat Options Oncol, 25(6), 769-783. (Read full article)
    2. Vagher J, Gammon A, Kohlmann W, Jeter J (2022). Non-Melanoma Skin Cancers and Other Cutaneous Manifestations in Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes and Rare DNA Repair Disorders. [Review]. Front Oncol, 12, 837059. (Read full article)
    3. Vagher J, Dietz MS, Schiffman JD, Kohlmann W, Maese L (2022). Germline predisposition to soft tissue sarcoma. [Review]. J Cancer Metastasis Treat, 8. (Read full article)

    Book Chapter

    1. Vagher J, Maese L, Gammon A, Kohlmann W, Schiffman JD (2021). Inherited risk for childhood leukemia. In Vagher J|Maese L|Gammon A|Kohlmann W|Schiffman JD (Ed.), The Hereditary Basis of Childhood Cancer (pp. 315-360). (Read full article)

    Case Report

    1. Franke K, Vagher J, Boyle J, Hall A, Smith-Simmer K (2022). Rare variant in the fumarate hydratase gene found in patients with clinical features of hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer (HLRCC): A case series. Clin Case Rep, 10(3), e05513. (Read full article)
    2. Kerrigan K, Chan J, Vagher J, Kohlmann W, Naumer A, Anson J, Low S, Schiffman J, Maese L (2021). Lung Cancer in Li-Fraumeni Syndrome. JCO Precis Oncol, 5. (Read full article)
    3. Rathi N, Anderson N, Greenberg S, Vagher J, Agarwal N, Hahn AW (2018). DNA Damage Repair (DDR) Mutations and the Utility of High-Risk Genetics Clinics in Metastatic Castration-Refractory Prostate Cancer (mCRPC). World J Oncol, 9(4), 119-122. (Read full article)

    Letter

    1. Tantravahi SK, Huber BD, Vagher J, Maese L, Pomicter AD, Al-Sweel N, Asch JD, Toydemir RM, Hong B, Parker C (2022). Genome-wide uniparental disomy as a mechanism of immune escape in acquired aplastic anaemia. [Letter to the editor]. Br J Haematol, 198(6), e78-e81. (Read full article)

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