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Tremendous advances in genetics have been witnessed over the past decade and the pace of discovery and innovation is accelerating. However, practical application of these advances has lagged and the promise of genetics in the realm of patient care has remained largely unrealized. This gap between genetics and the broader reaches of clinical medicine exists in large part because of a failure to systematically identify clinical needs that could be addressed by existing genetic capacity, the inherent complexity of genomics and a general knowledge deficit among most clinicians regarding what genetics has to offer their patients and how to apply it. Dr. Evans’ proposal aims to close this gap through the creation of a vertically integrated clinical and laboratory infrastructure which will harness genomic advances to patient care, educate providers and make practical the broad delivery of genetic medicine. This is a highly collaborative effort, with important engagement by many departments. A major collaborator is Dr. Karen Weck, director of Molecular Genetics within the Department of Pathology. Success in these efforts will accomplish several important goals. First, the application of existing genetic knowledge and technology in the clinical realm will improve the care of patients and their families. Second, close engagement of clinicians across a variety of specialties will result in a broad community of clinicians at UNC who are knowledgeable about genetic medicine and able to apply rapidly developing advances to patient care. Finally, with the creation of a broad and vibrant clinical genetics infrastructure, UNC will be well positioned to capitalize on the strong synergy between basic and clinical genetics. |
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