Temerty Faculty of Medicine
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Program Content

Our diverse faculty has exceptional strengths ranging from research in genomic method development, data acquisition and analysis to the study of disease mechanisms, oncology, pharmacogenomics and clinical genetics. Drawing on these expert teachers, students learn about all aspects of classical and next-generation genomics in a diverse curriculum, and apply and expand on what they learn in the Capstone Practicum.

Career Opportunities

The M.H.Sc. in Medical Genomics is a professional Master’s program focused on course-based learning, so there is no thesis component, unlike most graduate programs. The program focuses on providing directly actionable skills and knowledge to enable graduates of the program to extend their professional practice. It has been developed for a new era of research and clinical science. It provides professional and practical skills for a world where genetic and genomic data are routinely collected and analyzed across a wide range of patient populations and medical indications.

The program addresses students with either a medical or laboratory background. Students move through the program as a single cohort; each group will provide different voices and different perspectives in discussions of medical genomics and the impact of genetics and genomics in the future.

laboratory stream research flask

Laboratory Stream

Genetic tests are a growing component of the data used to guide clinical treatment and research discovery in both research and clinical laboratories. These tests have rapidly progressed from single genes and panels of multiple genes to whole-genome data, with concomitant increases in the complexity of understanding and communicating results.

Graduates of our program will be ideally suited for employment in clinical and research science labs implementing the tools of genomic medicine. They will also be highly attractive to publicly funded enterprises or private companies producing and interpreting genomic data for the health professions and direct-to-consumer testing laboratories. This degree will distinguish graduates, enhance existing professional practice, and enable new career paths.

stethoscope

Clinical Stream

Medical genomics is beginning to touch many different aspects of clinical care. We are moving rapidly towards a system that can be a real value-add in the job market for a clinician who is not a clinical geneticist to have specialized knowledge in genetics and genomics. Additionally, the growing availability and visibility of direct-to-consumer genetic testing mean that physicians, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals are now at the front lines of assisting patients in interpreting genetic data. Comprehension of genomic data and the ability to interpret and work with genetic results will place our graduates at the forefront of practicing healthcare providers and clinical researchers.

The MedGen Project Blog

The Medical Genomics students publish content they create in courses of the program on a blog. The students have held interviews with prominent people in genomics, written News & Views articles about exciting publications, and made webinars about concepts such as direct to consumer genetic testing, gene therapy and COVID-19 testing.