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Welcome

Brenton Graveley, Ph.D.

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 most 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 Endowed Chair, Genomics and Personalized Healthcare; Director, UConn Stem Cell Institute and Associate Director, Institute for System Genomics, University of Connecticut.

Upcoming Seminars

November 19, 2020
Erica Hutchins, Caltech. "Unraveling the mechanisms of the neural crest epithelial - mesenchymal transition" (Host, Stefan Pinter)

December 3, 2020
Aaron Quinlan, University of Utah. "Patterns and consequences of mutation in the human germline" (Host, Justin Cotney)

December 17, 2020
Elizabeth J. Leslie, Emory University School of Medicine. "From GWAS to Genomes: New Insights into the Human Genetics of Orofacial Clefts" (Host, Justin Cotney)

January 21, 2021
Gosia Trynka, Welcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK. "Interpreting GWAS variants with chromatin marks and single cell transcriptomics" (Host, Justin Cotney)

February 18, 2021
Thorold Theunissen, Washington University, St. Louis. "Understanding human pluripotent stem cell states and their applications" (Host, Stefan Pinter)

March 4, 2021
Vincent Pasque, KU Leuven, Belgium. "Genome and epigenome regulatory principles in early mammalian development, stem cells and reprogramming" (Host, Stefan Pinter)

First Place Winner, Ph.D. Students Poster Presentations

Dea Gorka, First Place Winner, Ph.D. Students Poster Presentations, "Genomic  Imprinting - From Biology to Disease 2020".
Virtual Seminar Cambridge, UK
September 28 - October 1, 2020

The work is about gaining a better understanding of the function of UBE3A-ATS, a long noncoding RNA, that leads to the silencing of UBE3A in order to learn more about Angelman syndrome and discover novel therapeutic options for these patients. (Read More..)

Might Mice’ Stay Musclebound in Space, Boon for Astronauts

A research team led by Dr. Se-Jin Lee of the Jackson Laboratory in Connecticut sent 40 young female black mice to the space station in December, launching aboard a SpaceX rocket. (Read More..)

UConn Researcher Identifies Genetic Elements Involved in Heart Development

The advent of genome science has given researchers an unprecedented ability to understand the root causes of a host of conditions. Justin Cotney, assistant professor of genetics and genome sciences in the UConn School of Medicine, has used this technology to identify a suite of genes and regulatory elements critical to normal heart development. (Read More..)

UConn and JAX Combine to Form Genomics Powerhouse

With a new grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute, UConn and The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine (JAX-GM) are among 10 universities in the country providing specialized training in genomics sciences to some of the nation’s most highly qualified students. Through the multi-year training program, students will have the opportunity to work alongside internationally recognized research faculty at UConn and JAX and prepare for fruitful careers in genomic sciences, a field that is revolutionizing medicine. (See Video Here..)