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The Program in
Human Molecular Biology and Genetics is located in the Eccles
Institute of Human Genetics (EIHG), which also houses
the Department of Human Genetics and many of the Howard Hughes
Investigators on campus. A major mission of the Program is
to identify and recruit outstanding biomedical investigators
at, or near, the beginnings of their independent faculty appointments
and to support and facilitate development of their research
programs during the next phase of their careers. Thus, the
Program in Human Molecular Biology and Genetics is not a training
milieu but instead is one that provides an environment and
a period of support for young independent investigators of
exceptional commitment and talent at a critical juncture in
their evolution. In addition, however, HMBG also directs and
coordinates a mentored development program focused on investigators
in transition to independent careers. This is called the Fellowship-to-Faculty
Training Program, and is funded in part by the Howard Hughes
Medical Institute. Thus, a central goal of the Program in
Human Molecular Biology and Genetics and the subsidiary Fellowship-to-Faculty
Transition Program is to provide a cadre of outstanding investigators
for the institution in the future and to maintain a place
of eminence for the University of Utah in biomedical investigation
by focusing on researchers at early phases in their careers.
Support of physician-scientists is a major, but not exclusive,
priority.
Since 1990, 23
faculty members have been recruited into the Program in Human
Molecular Biology and Genetics. Each appointee is based in
Program space in EIHG but, in addition, each also has had
an appointment in a clinical or basic department, underscoring
the interdisciplinary nature of the enterprise. Nine basic
and clinical departments have benefited from support of junior
faculty members by HMBG. In a number of instances HMBG appointees
have now returned to the sponsoring department or are building
larger independent laboratories in other research institutes
in the Medical Center, thus amplifying the benefits of the
HMBG Program by establishing new centers of investigation
and excellence. In addition to the investigators appointed
to HMBG, over a dozen physician-scientists have been supported
by the Fellowship-to-Faculty Transition Program since its
establishment in 1995.
The "post-genomic
era" now presents new opportunities and challenges that
are equal to, or exceed, those that existed when the Program
in Human Molecular Biology and Genetics was established over
a decade ago. For example, characterization of the human genome
and the genomes of several surrogate organisms and recent
advances in the disciplines of genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics
provide remarkable opportunities to extend our understanding
of human molecular biology, genetics and disease. Nevertheless,
the challenges of complex human diseases - such as diabetes,
atherosclerosis and cardiovascular syndromes, inherited neurologic,
psychiatric and visual diseases, inflammatory disorders and
many others - remain formidable. The Program in Human Molecular
Biology and Genetics is currently recruiting additional new
investigators with a strong emphasis on genetics, the biology
of human disease and molecular medicine to capitalize on these
opportunities and meet the challenges.
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