Acting Chairperson: Donald R. Mattison, MD
Department Office: A300 Crabtree Hall
(412) 624-3018, FAX (412) 624-3020
E-mail: JNORBUT@HELIX.HGEN.PITT.EDU
The Department of Human Genetics provides graduate training in the fields of human genetics and genetic counseling. The mission of the department is to discover new knowledge about the genetic determinants of human health and disease through basic and applied research; to educate students, trainees, and other interested persons in that knowledge; and to apply that knowledge to improve the health of populations, families, and patients.
The human genetics curriculum provides an understanding of basic genetic mechanisms affecting human genes, chromosomes, cells, individuals, and populations of organisms in both normal and disease states. Public health applications are achieved through the detection and quantitation of the effects of intrinsic factors such as age and sex, exposure to extrinsic agents such as chemical pollutants or therapeutic agents, and by understanding gene-environmental interactions in determining the distribution of health and disease in the human population. The underlying focus is on the theory and techniques for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting quantitative data.