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Applications will be accepted beginning June 2024 for a July 1st, 2025 start date

Program Description

The McLendon Clinical Laboratories of UNC Hospitals offer training in Laboratory Genetics and Genomics, which leads to eligibility for certification by the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ABMGG). This integrated training occurs in the Clinical Cytogenetics and Molecular Diagnostics laboratories. The training period is three years.

The Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory at UNC provides experience with tests for inherited disorders, including cystic fibrosis, fragile X, Prader Willi and Angelman syndromes, hemochromatosis, α1-antitrypsin deficiency, MCAD-deficiency, hearing loss (connexin 26 and 30), primary ciliary dyskinesia, and hereditary cancer predispositions (Lynch syndrome and BRCA1/2 mutations); somatic aberrations in cancer (chromosomal breakpoints in leukemias, T– and B–cell clonality assays, MSI, MGMT and MLH1 promoter methylation, quantitative NPM1 testing, solid tumor and myeloid panels by massively parallel sequencing for diagnosis, prognosis and predicted drug response; and monitoring of bone marrow transplants with polymorphic microsatellite markers. State-of-the-art technologies and instrumentation are used in all of these tests.

The UNC Cytogenetics Laboratory is a high-volume laboratory, processing over 4000 prenatal, postnatal and cancer specimens annually, including chorionic villus, amniocentesis, products of conception, peripheral blood, bone marrow, tumor, and tissue biopsies. Fellows will be well-trained in a variety of techniques including tissue culture, chromosome banding and analysis, FISH and chromosome microarray analysis. We continue to add new technologies to the lab in order to keep up with the rapidly growing field of cytogenetics.

In addition to gaining experience in the fields of cytogenetics and molecular genetics, all fellows will be instructed on how to validate and establish new testing, as well as how to establish, review, and maintain standard operating procedure manuals and quality control practices as required by the regulatory and licensing agencies (CLIA, CAP, etc.).

Our postdoctoral training programs in medical genetics are provided by collaboration among individuals from numerous academic units including Anatomy & Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Genetics, Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Pediatrics, the Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology, the School of Public Health, the Cancer Center, the Center for Genomics, the Neuroscience Center, the Gene Therapy Center, and the Birth Defects Center. The University of North Carolina Hospitals, with a statewide referral base, provide a rich source for clinical experience in all subspecialty areas. Our medical genetics programs have been a focus for statewide referrals since 1970.

Program Requirements

Ph.D. in an area related to genetics or M.D. is required. Physicians are also eligible for fellowship training in Molecular Genetic Pathology.

Stipends

Fellowship stipends are equivalent to a PGY1 salary for residency programs.

Program Director

Jessica Booker, PhD

Faculty Members

Applications

Applications for the three-year Laboratory Genetics and Genomics fellowship beginning July 1, 2025 will be accepted from May 1 through August 31, 2024. Applicants should have completed their PhD or MD prior to the application deadline. To apply, please submit your CV, a personal statement, and 3 reference letters to Jessica Booker, PhD, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, CB# 7525, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7525. Applications may be submitted electronically to Jessica.Booker@unchealth.unc.edu. If your graduate education was obtained outside the United States, Canada, or Puerto Rico, you will also need to send a Credential Evaluation letter from the ABMGG.