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Genetics

Genetics

Providing exceptional research opportunities in genetics — ranging from molecular, cellular, and biomedical genetics to computational analysis of molecular evolution, populations, and genomes — while promoting the academic and professional development of our students

Genetics is a remarkable field in which classical concepts combine with cutting edge approaches to reveal the mysteries of biology. These exciting developments are reflected in the Intercollege Graduate Program in Genetics.

Program overview


Four Genetics graduate students talk about the program and why they like it. Read the transcript.

  • Provides training opportunities with more than 100 faculty members. Laboratory rotations allow incoming students to work with several faculty members to assess multiple opportunities for doctoral thesis research and explore new areas within the diverse field of Genetics.
  • Trains graduates for rapidly expanding careers in Genetics: at academic institutions, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, private research institutes, and governmental research laboratories. Training in the Genetics Program encompasses the full spectrum from the molecular to the population level in a wide range of model systems.
  • Supports cutting edge research with well-equipped laboratories and facilities. These include a suite of specialized instrumentation and core research facilities providing excellent support for Genetics research. In addition, highly sophisticated hardware and software resources are available for research involving bioinformatics and computational methods.

 

The Genetics program is highly focused on student development through:

  • Exceptional research and training opportunities
  • A curriculum designed to impart depth and breadth in Genetics
  • A variety of professional development activities, including a student-organized annual research symposium featuring guest lectures by leading geneticists from around the world as well as presentation of research conducted by our own students and faculty.

These efforts support the primary goal of our program: to provide bright and talented young scholars with the opportunity and freedom to realize their great potential in the field of Genetics.

Faculty Spotlight
Professor of Biology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Psychiatry, Director, Center for Molecular Investigation of Neurological Disorders (CMIND)
News
Honey bee colonies are collapsing in record numbers, and Penn State entomologists -- including Huck Institutes affiliate Christina Grozinger -- are leading the pack of researchers scrambling to figure out why. Rescuing honey bee hives - Full article
A research team led by Huck Institutes affiliate Gong Chen has developed a new method for obtaining mature neurons from reprogrammed skin cells, allowing difficult-to-study diseases such as Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, and autism to be probed more safely and effectively. Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, and autism now can be studied with mature brain cells reprogrammed from skin cells - Full article
Diseases such as tuberculosis, anthrax, and shigellosis – a severe food-borne illness – eventually could be treated with an entirely new and more-effective kind of antibiotic, thanks to a team of scientists led by Huck Institutes affiliate Kenneth Keiler, an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State. New kind of antibiotic may be more effective at fighting tuberculosis, anthrax, and other diseases - Full article
A research team led by Huck Institutes affiliate Yanming Wang and Harvard's Denisa Wagner finds a gene that could offer new insights into treatment strategies for the harmful blood clots of deep-vein thrombosis. Gene offers clues to new treatments for a harmful blood clotting disorder - Full article
In the cover article for the current issue of the journal Evolutionary Anthropology, Huck Institutes affiliates Ken Weiss and Dan Parker discuss malaria and the evolutionary challenge that won't go away. Will you stop bugging me? - Full article