PROGRAM IN
HUMAN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND GENETICS
 
 
 
       
University of Utah
         
               
                                 
                                                   
                 
                 
         
       

The Program in Human Molecular Biology and Genetics (HMBG) was established in 1990 as an interdisciplinary and interdepartmental initiative aimed at capitalizing on new and rapidly advancing aspects of genetics and molecular biology. A key goal was to develop mechanisms that promote discoveries in these disciplines at the University of Utah and to facilitate translation of these discoveries into better understanding of the molecular basis for human diseases. Thus the Program is one of "medicine anchored in science".

 

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.

 
       
     
                                                           
       
© 2002 Program in Human Molecular Biology and Genetics at the University of Utah.
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