{"id":21,"date":"2015-10-09T13:12:53","date_gmt":"2015-10-09T17:12:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/production.wordpress.uconn.edu\/uctemplate2014\/?page_id=21"},"modified":"2026-04-06T21:42:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T01:42:34","slug":"home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/","title":{"rendered":"Home"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pl-21\"  class=\"panel-layout\" ><div id=\"pg-21-0\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\" ><div id=\"pgc-21-0-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-21-0-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_metaslider_widget panel-first-child\" data-index=\"0\" ><div id=\"metaslider-id-216\" style=\"width: 100%;\" class=\"ml-slider-3-80-0 ml-slider-pro-2-36-0 metaslider metaslider-flex metaslider-216 ml-slider ms-theme-default nav-hidden\" role=\"region\" aria-roledescription=\"Slideshow\" aria-label=\"Home Page\">\n    <div id=\"metaslider_container_216\">\n        <div id=\"metaslider_216\">\n            <ul class='slides'>\n                <li style=\"display: block; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-549 ms-image \" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"slide-549\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2015\/11\/gen1.jpg\" height=\"390\" width=\"910\" alt=\"DNA with UConn Health building\" class=\"slider-216 slide-549\" \/><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-550 ms-image \" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"slide-550\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2015\/11\/cgsb.jpg\" height=\"390\" width=\"910\" alt=\"Cell and Genome Sciences Building\" class=\"slider-216 slide-550\" \/><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-551 ms-image \" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"slide-551\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2015\/11\/genx.jpg\" height=\"390\" width=\"910\" alt=\"DNA with molecular structure\" class=\"slider-216 slide-551\" \/><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-215 ms-image \" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"slide-215\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2015\/10\/gen5.jpg\" height=\"390\" width=\"910\" alt=\"RNA\" class=\"slider-216 slide-215\" \/><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-213 ms-image \" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"slide-213\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2015\/10\/gen3-e1623151259574-299x128.jpg\" height=\"390\" width=\"910\" alt=\"DNA\" class=\"slider-216 slide-213\" \/><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-2893 ms-image \" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"slide-2893\"><a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2020\/09\/Gordon_Carmichael_Print.pdf\" target=\"_self\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2020\/09\/GordonCarmichael-788x337.png\" height=\"390\" width=\"910\" alt=\"Gordon Carmichael Published\" class=\"slider-216 slide-2893\" title=\"GordonCarmichael\" \/><\/a><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\">Click to read more on \"Unraveling the Biology of snoRNAs Implicated in Prader-Willi Syndrome\" by Professor Gordon Carmichael.<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n            <\/ul>\n        <\/div>\n        \n    <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><div id=\"panel-21-0-0-1\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_black-studio-tinymce widget_black_studio_tinymce panel-last-child\" data-index=\"1\" ><div class=\"textwidget\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2023\/08\/Brenton_Graveley_2023-e1692625155799.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2023\/08\/Brenton_Graveley_2023-e1692625155799-269x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"194\" height=\"216\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-4514\" srcset=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2023\/08\/Brenton_Graveley_2023-e1692625155799-269x300.png 269w, https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2023\/08\/Brenton_Graveley_2023-e1692625155799.png 634w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 194px) 100vw, 194px\" \/><\/a>Welcome to the Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences.&nbsp;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.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pgc-21-0-1\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-21-0-1-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_black-studio-tinymce widget_black_studio_tinymce panel-first-child\" data-index=\"2\" ><div class=\"panel-widget-style panel-widget-style-for-21-0-1-0\" ><h3 class=\"widget-title\">Quick Links<\/h3><div class=\"textwidget\"><div class=\"textwidget\">\n<div class=\"textwidget\">\n<p>Education<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/graduate-school\/academics\/programs\/ph-d-biomedical-science\/genetics-and-developmental-biology-area-of-concentration\/\">Genetics and Developmental Biology Area of Concentration<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/uconn-jax-gm-training-program-in-genomic-science\/\">UConn\/ JAX-GM Training Program in Genomic Science (T32)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/isg.uconn.edu\/\">Institute for Systems Genomics<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/upcoming-seminars\/\">Seminars<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"panel-21-0-1-1\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_black-studio-tinymce widget_black_studio_tinymce panel-last-child\" data-index=\"3\" ><div class=\"panel-widget-style panel-widget-style-for-21-0-1-1\" ><h3 class=\"widget-title\">Upcoming Seminars<\/h3><div class=\"textwidget\"><div>\n<div class=\"textwidget\"><strong><span>April 16, 2026<\/span> (12:00 p.m.)<\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"textwidget\"><strong>Speaker: Kelly Zatopek, Ph.D.<\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"textwidget\"><span>Edmund and Arlene Grossman Auditorium<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"textwidget\">Home Institution: New England Biolabs<\/div>\n<div class=\"textwidget\">Title: How to Thrive in an Extreme Environment<\/div>\n<div class=\"textwidget\">Host: Dr. Sandra Garrett<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div class=\"textwidget\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/graveleylabweb.cam.uchc.edu\/GGS\/seminars\/\"><span>View more upcoming seminars<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pg-21-1\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\" ><div id=\"pgc-21-1-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-21-1-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_media_image panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"4\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"471\" height=\"612\" src=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2023\/08\/Jean-Denis_Beaudoin.jpeg\" class=\"image wp-image-4542  attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" style=\"max-width: 100%; height: auto;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2023\/08\/Jean-Denis_Beaudoin.jpeg 471w, https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2023\/08\/Jean-Denis_Beaudoin-231x300.jpeg 231w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 471px) 100vw, 471px\" \/><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pgc-21-1-1\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-21-1-1-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_black-studio-tinymce widget_black_studio_tinymce panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"5\" ><div class=\"textwidget\"><h2 class=\"entry-title\"><span> Winner of the first-ever Tao Rising Stars Award <\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>February 25, 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">We are<\/span> pleased to announce the winner of the first-ever Tao Rising Stars Award - <strong>Dr. J.D. Beaudoin<\/strong>, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences. The Tao Rising Stars Award recognizes a junior faculty member who has outstanding potential to be the next nationally recognized research star from UConn Health.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>Dr. Beaudoin<\/strong>'s laboratory specializes in RNA structure-function and translational control. As a junior faculty member, Dr. Beaudoin has already achieved independent NIH funding and has published in high-impact journals. He also has displayed a clear commitment to trainee education and mentorship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">More details can be found <a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2026\/02\/Winner-of-the-first-ever-Tao-Rising-Stars-Award.pdf\">here<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pg-21-2\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\" ><div id=\"pgc-21-2-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-21-2-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_media_image panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"6\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1532\" height=\"1384\" src=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2026\/01\/Endowed-chairs-2026-XiaoyanGuo.png\" class=\"image wp-image-5433  attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" style=\"max-width: 100%; height: auto;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2026\/01\/Endowed-chairs-2026-XiaoyanGuo.png 1532w, https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2026\/01\/Endowed-chairs-2026-XiaoyanGuo-300x271.png 300w, https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2026\/01\/Endowed-chairs-2026-XiaoyanGuo-1024x925.png 1024w, https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2026\/01\/Endowed-chairs-2026-XiaoyanGuo-768x694.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1532px) 100vw, 1532px\" \/><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pgc-21-2-1\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-21-2-1-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_black-studio-tinymce widget_black_studio_tinymce panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"7\" ><div class=\"textwidget\"><h2 class=\"entry-title\"><span>Newly Endowed Chairs and Professors Celebrated at UConn School of Medicine<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>January 28, 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\" data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">Transformative research of UConn medical school faculty Danielle Luciano, Pedro Mendes, Sarah Feldstein Ewing, Guangfu Li, Patrick Murphy, and <strong>Xiaoyan Guo<\/strong>, being generously supported by philanthropic donations to UConn\u2019s medical school through the UConn Foundation.<\/p>\n<p data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\"><strong>Xiaoyan Guo<\/strong>, Ph.D. joined the School of Medicine in 2022 in the Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences. <span>Guo\u2019s Lab is actively investigating how mitochondria cross talk with the rest of the cell in health and diseases using CRISPR-based functional genomics. Her lab aims to identify potential therapeutic targets for these diseases such as Parkinson\u2019s disease and Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">More details at <a href=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2026\/01\/newly-endowed-chairs-and-professors-celebrated-at-uconn-school-of-medicine\/\">UConn Today<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pg-21-3\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\" ><div id=\"pgc-21-3-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-21-3-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_media_image panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"8\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1164\" height=\"1098\" src=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-14-at-10.03.56\u202fPM.png\" class=\"image wp-image-5427  attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" style=\"max-width: 100%; height: auto;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-14-at-10.03.56\u202fPM.png 1164w, https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-14-at-10.03.56\u202fPM-300x283.png 300w, https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-14-at-10.03.56\u202fPM-1024x966.png 1024w, https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-14-at-10.03.56\u202fPM-768x724.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1164px) 100vw, 1164px\" \/><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pgc-21-3-1\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-21-3-1-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_black-studio-tinymce widget_black_studio_tinymce panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"9\" ><div class=\"textwidget\"><h2 class=\"entry-title\"><span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">New Vice President of the Gerontological Society of America is from UConn<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>January 13, 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Blanka Rogina<\/strong>, 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.<\/p>\n<p><span>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\u2014placing her squarely as an expert in gerontology.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>More details at <a href=\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2026\/01\/new-vice-president-of-the-gerontological-society-of-america-is-from-uconn\/\">UConn Today<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pg-21-4\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\" ><div id=\"pgc-21-4-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-21-4-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_media_image panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"10\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"934\" height=\"740\" src=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2025\/10\/10092025_LIVE-LONGER-ON-AHEALTHY-DIET-AT-ANY-AGE_img.png\" class=\"image wp-image-5389  attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" style=\"max-width: 100%; height: auto;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2025\/10\/10092025_LIVE-LONGER-ON-AHEALTHY-DIET-AT-ANY-AGE_img.png 934w, https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2025\/10\/10092025_LIVE-LONGER-ON-AHEALTHY-DIET-AT-ANY-AGE_img-300x238.png 300w, https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2025\/10\/10092025_LIVE-LONGER-ON-AHEALTHY-DIET-AT-ANY-AGE_img-768x608.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 934px) 100vw, 934px\" \/><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pgc-21-4-1\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-21-4-1-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_black-studio-tinymce widget_black_studio_tinymce panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"11\" ><div class=\"textwidget\"><h2 class=\"entry-title\">LIVE LONGER ON A HEALTHY DIET AT ANY AGE<\/h2>\n<p><span>October 9, 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\" data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">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 <strong>Blanka Rogina<\/strong> in the Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences and the Institute for Systems Genomics.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\"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.\"<\/strong> Commented by Brenton Gravelcy, Ph.D., Co-rescarcher, Professor, and Chair, Genetics and Genome Sciences<\/p>\n<p>More details can be found <a href=\"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/124\/2025\/10\/10092025_LIVE-LONGER-ON-AHEALTHY-DIET-AT-ANY-AGE57.png\">here<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to the Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences.&nbsp;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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-blank.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-25 17:26:09","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21"}],"version-history":[{"count":910,"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5537,"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21\/revisions\/5537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/genetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}