NHGRI medical genetics training programs provide an array of education opportunities - National Human Genome Research Institute

Postgraduate training in medical genetics has been a cornerstone of clinical training at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for many years. As a worldwide leader in developing cutting-edge genomics tools and technologies, the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) provides opportunities for first-hand training experiences from genomics leaders and innovators through a suite of seven training programs spanning various aspects of medical genetics and genomics. These programs offer trainees a variety of mentored interactions with researchers and physicians and provide access to vast resources at the NIH, other local and renowned medical institutions, and an impressive array of clinical and academic diagnostic laboratories around the nation's capital.

Recently, NHGRI appointed Oleg Shchelochkov, M.D., as the new Director of Residency and Fellowship Programs to oversee these training programs. Dr. Shchelochkov will work closely with other NIH training program leaders, in particular Melissa Merideth, M.D., M.P.H. (Clinical and Medical Biochemical Genetics) and Robert Hufnagel. M.D., Ph.D. (Laboratory Genetics and Genomics). Dr. Shchelochkov joins the training program team after most recently working as a staff clinician in Chuck Venditti's Organic Acid Research Section within the NHGRI Intramural Research Program (IRP), focusing on inborn errors of metabolism.

Training future generations of clinical geneticists and genomic scientists is one of the central values in the 2020 NHGRI Strategic Vision. The clinical training programs in the NHGRI IRP include a Medical Genetics Residency, Laboratory Genetics and Genomics Fellowship, Medical Biochemical Genetics Residency, and Clinical Biochemical Genetics Fellowship. NHGRI also provides the medical genetics training for several combined programs, including a Combined Residency in Pediatrics and Medical Genetics as well as Combined Fellowships in Maternal Fetal Medicine and Medical Genetics and Reproductive Endocrinology and Medical Genetics. These programs complement other training opportunities in which NHGRI is centrally involved, such as the Genetic Counseling Training Program that is collaboratively led by Johns Hopkins University and NIH. Mentorship is a key component of all of these programs. Participants have access to mentors at NHGRI, the broader NIH, and other well-respected institutions in the greater DC-Baltimore metropolitan area.

The three-year Medical Genetics Residency Program trains physicians to diagnose, manage, and counsel patients with genetic disorders. The program exposes its trainees to genetic conditions that range from common to ultra-rare, providing broad experiences in clinical and molecular genetics, metabolic diseases, and bioinformatic applications. The program includes clinical and laboratory training (accompanied work in a research laboratory), participation in natural history studies, and work on clinical trials or bioinformatics projects. Clinical training includes the unique and diverse patient populations at the NIH (including exposure to innovative clinical trials for treatments of rare disease) as well as rotations at outstanding local institutions.

The Laboratory Genetics and Genomics Fellowship Training Program is a two-year fellowship program that trains individuals with M.D., D.O., and Ph.D. degrees to become laboratory directors with expertise to oversee and interpret cytogenetic and molecular genetic tests important in the diagnosis and management of human genetic disorders. To gain the requisite laboratory experience, fellows rotate through a variety of CLIA-certified cytogenetic and molecular genetics diagnostic laboratories at NIH and in the DC-Baltimore metropolitan area. Fellows also gain clinical exposure by seeing patients with genetic disorders across the lifespan in various NIH centers and in hospitals and outpatient clinics.

The Medical Biochemical Genetics Residency Program is a one-year residency program that trains highly motivated physicians to diagnose, manage, and counsel patients with inborn errors of metabolism. Like the Medical Genetics Residency Program, this program is unparalleled in several respects. It exposes residents to rare metabolic disorders that might not be seen in a more typical biochemical genetics program and it is one of the few programs that emphasizes clinical research. While NHGRI sponsors this program, residents also rotate at other participating institutions in the DC-Baltimore metropolitan area.

The two-year Clinical Biochemical Genetics Fellowship Program is designed to train individuals with M.D., D.O., and Ph.D. degrees in the modern laboratory diagnostic methods of enzymatic analysis, high-pressure liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography mass spectrometry to enable diagnosis of a wide range of inborn metabolic disorders. Fellows in this laboratory program complete rotations at the NIH and at other participating institutions.

The Combined Pediatrics and Medical Genetics Residency Program, offered in conjunction with Children's National Hospital in Washington, DC, is a four-to-five-year program that trains physicians in pediatric medicine as well as in the diagnosis, management, and counseling of patients with genetic disorders. Participants gain broad experience in pediatrics, clinical and molecular genetics, metabolic diseases, and cytogenetics. Trainees spend approximately 50% of their time in a pediatrics residency program at Children's National Hospital and the remaining 50% in a clinical genetics residency. Clinical training highlights the role of genetics in general medicine, pediatrics, oncology, ophthalmology, cardiology, and perinatal medicine.

The Maternal Fetal Medicine and Medical Genetics Fellowship offers combined subspecialty training in maternal-fetal medicine and medical genetics in collaboration with the MedStar Washington Hospital Center and is intended for those who have already completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology. The four-year combined program provides a unique training opportunity for understanding the genetic etiologies seen in prenatally diagnosed anomalies and the impact of genetic and metabolic disease on healthy and high-risk pregnancies. The fellowship is structured to allow two years of focus on maternal-fetal medicine and two years of focus on medical genetics.

The Reproductive Endocrinology and Medical Genetics Fellowship is a four-to-five-year training program offered in conjunction with the NICHD/Federal Fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology. This program is designed to provide training in the diagnosis, treatment, and counseling for genetic conditions that influence fertility. Fellows are trained in the latest treatments for couples with infertility, including artificial reproductive technologies and pre-implantation genetic testing. The training program is open to those who have already completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology.

Explore the above wide array of NHGRI clinical training opportunities and be a part of pushing these exciting clinical areas forward, all through first-hand training from genomics leaders and innovators.