Welcome to the Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences. Created in 1998, the department offers many exciting opportunities for research and graduate education. The department is located in the state-of-the-art Cell and Genome Sciences Building. The department is also the academic home of the Division of Medical Genetics which provides clinical and laboratory genetics services to Connecticut. Our research strengths include RNA biology, developmental biology, signal transduction, and the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of gene regulation. We are continually increasing external funding for our current research programs, enhancing the national and international reputation of our faculty and their research, and recruiting outstanding faculty members with new and complementary areas of research expertise. We also have a close working relationship with the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine (JAX-GM), and many of JAX-GM faculty have academic appointments in our department. Dr. Brenton R. Graveley, Professor and Chair of Genetics and Genome Sciences, UConn School of Medicine, and PHS Endowed Chair, in Genetics and Developmental Biology; Associate Director, Institute for System Genomics, University of Connecticut.

Upcoming Seminars

March 19, 2026 (12:00 p.m.)
Speaker: Ella Zeldich, Ph.D.
Edmund and Arlene Grossman Auditorium
Home Institution: Boston University
Title: Mechanistic insights into neuronal dysfunction in Down Syndrome through human organoid models
Host: Dr. Stefan Pinter
 

View more upcoming seminars

 

New Vice President of the Gerontological Society of America is from UConn

January 13, 2026

Blanka Rogina, M.S., Ph.D., of the UConn School of Medicine has been newly elected vice president of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA). Rogina will serve a 1-year term in this national leadership position, beginning January 2026.

Rogina serves UConn School of Medicine as professor of Genetics and Genome Sciences and is an affiliated investigator of the UConn Center on Aging. Her research focus is to identify and characterize molecular mechanisms of aging and to find key players that contribute to extended healthspan and longevity—placing her squarely as an expert in gerontology. 

More details at UConn Today

LIVE LONGER ON A HEALTHY DIET AT ANY AGE

October 9, 2025

Fruit flies are sharing life lessons. Researchers report in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) that switching a fruit fly's diet to a low-calorie one is a reliable way to extend lifespan, even for old flies in ill health. In fact, old, obese flies get healthier and live longer if put on a diet. If the effect holds true for humans, it would mean it's never too late for obese people to improve their health with diet. For the fruit fly study, researchers mimicked the modern highly processed food diet of humans with a high-calorie, high-sugar, high-protein diet. Switching these obese flies to a low-calorie diet, even very late in life. dramatically changed their metabolisms and extended their lives. The research was led by geneticist Blanka Rogina in the Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences and the Institute for Systems Genomics.

"The remarkable finding of this study is that even after living a significant portion of their lives on a high-calorie diet, flies can gain the benefits of life span extension by simply switching to a low-calorie diet." Commented by Brenton Gravelcy, Ph.D., Co-rescarcher, Professor, and Chair, Genetics and Genome Sciences

More details can be found here

 

Pedro Miura, Ph.D.

Dr. Pedro Miura receives the 2025 Osborn Award

August 25, 2025

The 2025 Osborn Award for Excellence in Biomedical Science Graduate Teaching was awarded to Dr. Pedro Miura, a faculty member of the Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences and member of the Genetics and Developmental Biology Graduate Program on August 20th at the 42nd Annual Biomedical Science Graduate Student Research Day.  The Osborn Award is for Excellence in Graduate Teaching in Biomedical Science.  The award was established by the Basic Science Chairs in 2005 to honor Dr. Osborn’s many contributions to graduate education at UConn Health and recognizes a Graduate faculty member for their commitment to exceptional education and training of graduate students; it is nominated and selected by Biomedical Science students.

Congrats Pedro!