UCLA Human Genetics
The Department of Human Genetics is the youngest basic science department in the Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. When the Department was launched just prior to the sequencing of the human genome, it was clear that the practice of genetics research would be forever changed by the infusion of massive amounts of new data. Organizing and making sense of this genomic data is one of the greatest scientific challenges ever faced by mankind. The knowledge generated will ultimately transform medicine through patient-specific treatments and prevention strategies.
The Department is dedicated to turning the mountains of raw genetic data into a detailed understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of human disease. The key to such understanding is the realization that genes not only code for specific proteins, but they also control the temporal development and maturation of every living organism through a complex web of interactions.
Housed in the new Gonda Research Center, the Department serves as a focal point for genetics research on the UCLA campus, with state of the art facilities for gene expression, sequencing, genotyping, and bioinformatics. In addition to its research mission, the Department offers many exciting training opportunities for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and medical residents. Our faculty and staff welcome inquiries from prospective students. We also hope that a quick look at our web pages will give you a better idea of the Department's research and educational activities.
Kenneth Lange
Department Chair
Upcoming Seminars
Upcoming Special Courses
Department News
News Highlights
- Dr. James Lake is selected as one of six UCLA professors elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- Dr. Marc Suchard has been selected as the 2011 recipient of the Carroll Young Investigator Award for his important contributions in the field of statistics.
- Dr. Stephen Young has been selected to give the George Lyman Duff Memorial Lecture at the 2011 National American Heart Association meeting in Florida.
- Dr. Dan Geschwind, the Gordon and Virginia MacDonald Distinguished Chair in Human Genetics and distinguished autism researcher, has been elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) at the Academy of Natural Sciences.
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James Lake, UCLA Distinguished Professor of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology and Human Genetics,
has won the Darwin Wallace Medal from the Linnean Society of London for major research advances in evolutionary biology.
A Tribute to Leena Peltonen