Medical Genetics and Genomics Residency

The ACGME-accredited graduate medical education program in medical genetics and genomics at the University of Pittsburgh provides the formal instruction and appropriately supervised clinical experience necessary for residents to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes essential to the practice of Clinical Medical Genetics. Residents are offered robust opportunities to become involved in research and teaching and education in the basic sciences and clinical areas pertinent to medical genetics, including Mendelian genetics, cytogenetics, diagnosis and treatment of inborn errors of metabolism, molecular diagnosis, syndrome identification and dysmorphology, teratology, reproductive genetics, congenital malformations, multifactorial disorders, intellectual and developmental disabilities, genetic screening, social and ethical issues in medical genetics, genetic counseling, and quantitative human genetics. 

The program provides two years of graduate medical education to physicians (MD, DO, MD/PhD) who have completed an entire ACGME-accredited residency in another specialty, and who can obtain a medical license in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The 24 months of medical genetics education includes at least 18 months of broad-based, clinically oriented medical genetics activities. We are currently approved to accept two residents, in a 24-month program. 

The overall goal of the program is to provide highly motivated physicians with a broad exposure to clinical, laboratory, and research experiences to prepare them to become effective, independent medical geneticists who deliver an excellent standard of clinical genetic services and undertake research investigations to improve the understanding and management of genetic diseases.

Our Goals

  • Provide clinical experience with a wide range of numbers, types, and ages of patients and families with, or suspected of having, diseases of familial, genetic, hereditary, or congenital origins, so that trainees become well-versed in the various approaches to clinical and laboratory evaluation, management, and counseling 
  • Present trainees the access to models and the best current knowledge of genetics as it applies to medicine by engaging a range and diversity of senior physicians and geneticists and consulting laboratory geneticists with experience in the total range of medical genetics and genomics 
  • Facilitate a broad range of clinical, counseling, and laboratory research opportunities so that trainees can sample many areas of medical genetics and immerse themselves with a productive focus in one 
  • Provide a formal classroom instruction in genetics and counseling through courses of graduate school quality, seminars, journal clubs, and other educational modalities.

Why UPMC and Pitt Pediatrics?

  • Large and diverse faculty across several hospitals 
  • Extremely active clinical and basic science research programs  
    • New treatments and gene therapy 
  • World class Inborn Errors of Metabolism program 
  • Strong relationships with laboratory and affiliate clinical programs 
    • Genetic counseling training program 
    • Laboratory Genetics and Genomics  
    • Medical Biochemical Genetics 
    • Clinical Biochemical Genetics 
  • 1:1 mentoring model 
  • Diverse patient population, including the Plain Community (for example, Amish, Mennonite, etc) 
  • Plans in process for a combined Medical Genetics-Pediatrics residency program 
  • Opportunity for Master of Public Health in Health Genetics 
  • Unified medical care system with integration with adult, prenatal and other genetic services 
  • Broad employment opportunities after training

Curriculum

The residency program incorporates various conferences, rotations, lectures, and journal clubs.

Other Resources

Get links to helpful Pitt and Children's Hospital websites, as well as similar programs at our institutions.

How to Apply and Contact Us

We accept applications through the Electonic Residency Application Service (ERAS®).