Education

Harvard University: Arts & Sciences: Genetics

Category Art and Social Sciences, Biological Sciences, Harvard University, Medicine, Postgraduate, USA
Tags Arts, Genetics, Harvard University, Sciences

Reflecting the breadth of the field itself, the Department of Genetics consists of faculty working on diverse problems using a variety of approaches and model organisms, unified in their focus on the genome as an organizing principle for understanding biological phenomena. Genetics is not perceived simply as a subject, but rather as a way of viewing and approaching biological phenomenon. While the range of current efforts can best be appreciated by reading the research interests of individual faculty, the scope of the work conducted in the Department includes (but is by no means limited to) human genetics of both single gene disorders and complex traits, development of genomic technology, cancer biology, developmental biology, signal transduction, cell biological problems, stem cell biology, computational genetics, immunology, synthetic biology, epigenetics, evolutionary biology, and plant biology. The mission of the Department encompasses research and education while serving as a focal point for drawing together and integrating basic and clinical genetic efforts conducted across the University and its affiliated hospitals. The Department of Genetics is strongly committed to supporting its current community of faculty, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students and to securing the best new scientists, setting its sight on new research opportunities in the future.

One of the most important roles the Department has is providing graduate and medical education in Genetics. All faculty participate in the teaching mission of the Department contributing to graduate and medical education as needed and according to their interests. All of the faculty are members of the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS) Graduate Program. This is a broad-based PhD program that also includes all basic science departments at HMS as well as a large number of affiliated faculty from other basic and clinical departments. In conjunction with the BBS Curriculum Committee, the Department endeavors to provide students with the strongest possible background in genetics through a core course and a wide variety of upper level specialized courses. Some members of the Department also participate in a number of other more narrowly focused graduate programs at Harvard, including those in biophysics, systems biology, neurosciences, immunology and virology. The Department also takes responsibility for teaching courses in genetics and embryology to first year medical students. One other aspect of teaching involves the Department’s clinical postgraduate training of Genetics fellows in preparation for Board qualification. Clinical training in Genetics at Harvard is a joint effort involving all of the major teaching hospitals. While the hospitals assume the main responsibility for this training effort and provide patients for instruction, the Department of Genetics provides support and research opportunities for fellows.