Thursday, November 21, 2024
11/21/2024
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Human and Mammalian Genetics and Genomics: the McKusick Short Course, developed through a six- decade long partnership between Johns Hopkins University and The Jackson Laboratory (JAX), trains the next generation of basic research and medical genetics professionals. The McKusick Short Course is purposefully an intense, two-week program that covers human and mouse genetic and genomics processes and the mechanisms of human disease. With graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, medical genetics residents, and faculty being the dominant audience, the course offers ~50 lectures, 10 workshops, multiple evening lectures by featured speakers, a poster session, and both formal and informal networking opportunities over a 12-day period, uniquely providing medical genetics, mouse genetics, and ethical, legal, and social implications of genomics content training. The content delivered by the Short Course would normally be covered by one or many more graduate-level, semester-long university courses. Additionally, the McKusick Short Course will be delivered in a hybrid format, with online/virtual access to the seminars and, where practical and feasible, the workshops. The hybrid format enhances inclusivity by reducing barriers to participation for individuals who could not otherwise attend. Course participation by historically underrepresented groups (URGs) in science increased nearly 50% during the prior funding period, and well outstrips current estimates of URG enrollment in graduate school and post-doctoral and faculty employment in the US. JAX continues to be deeply committed to recruiting and training a diverse group of biomedical scientists, with scholarships to be provided to enable in-person attendance. Diversity will also be discussed with regards to the initiatives, tools, and resources being generated to study the genetic basis of disease. This includes best practices for genetics and genomics research to address ongoing health care disparities, the need for studies of genetically diverse models and populations, and representation of diverse backgrounds within genetic databases and samples.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
