Human Genetics at Pitt
The department was established in 1989, and was the first Human Genetics Department in an American School of Public Health. It grew out of the division of population genetics in the Department of Biostatistics under the guidance of stalwarts in the field such as Drs. C.C. Li, Robert Ferrell, and Aravinda Chakravarti.
Transformative research discoveries pertaining to a number of diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, lymphedema, Alzheimer’s disease, lupus, and cancer, have originated from the cutting edge research conducted by investigators within the Department. Since its inception, the Department has granted degrees to hundreds of genetics professionals who have moved on to exciting and prestigious careers in academics and industry.
Pitt Public Health & The Schools of the Health Sciences
A unique feature of the Department of Human Genetics is its setting within the School of Public Health (which is rare for the field).
Equally important are our close ties and interactions with clinicians and researchers across the Pitt's schools of the health sciences and with clinical partners such as UPMC. MSGC students will develop core analysis skills while being exposed to the perspectives of public health professionals, with emphasis on the role of human genomics in the health and disease status of communities and individuals in the context of society.
Additionally, students in the MS in Genome Bioinformatics program can take advantage of the resources and research opportunities afforded by other schools of the health sciences, especially the Pitt Medicine, where many researchers are carrying out cutting edge genomic studies using next-generation sequence data and bioinformatics tools and methods.