UNC Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine

Molecular Diagnostics / Cytogenetics Course

Goal: The goal of this month-long course is to instill expertise in molecular diagnostics and cytogenetics so that our residents and fellows become competent clinical consultants on the use of genetic technology in a wide variety of clinical settings. Trainees develop technical, clinical, communication, management, and judgment skills. A fundamental understanding of genetic technologies prepares them to comprehend the medical literature now and as new genetic test procedures are introduced in future years. Training is provided in a structured environment via didactic seminars, laboratory procedures, preparing clinical cases for sign out under the supervision of expert faculty, and interaction with clinicians, counselors, and laboratory scientists. A project is done on a topic of their choosing.

Objectives:

1. Gain a working knowledge of molecular technologies including Southern blot, in situ hybridization, polymerase chain reaction, arrays, protein truncation test, and sequencing. Learn about clinical applications in patients with cancer, inherited disease, and infectious disease, and about applications in HLA typing, parentage, and forensics.

2. Gain a working knowledge of cytogenetics including terminology, karyotypes, and FISH. Learn clinical applications of cytogenetics such as prenatal diagnosis, identification of congenital abnormalities, and diagnosis and monitoring of malignancy.

3. Interpret molecular and cytogenetic data from clinical cases and compose diagnostic reports, in correlation with clinical, morphologic, and immunophenotypic findings.

4. Discuss quality assurance, ethics, and lab administration related to molecular technology.

Resident Duties and Responsibilities: The resident attends didactic sessions, delivers case-based presentations, observes testing, reads articles, interprets results, and prepares cases for sign-out. Three recommended texts are Leonard DGB: Diagnostic Molecular Pathology, WB Saunders Co., 2003; Ross DW, Introduction to Molecular Medicine, 3rd ed, 2002; Tsongalis GJ and Coleman WB: Molecular Diagnostics: A Training Guide, AACC Press, 2002. At the end of the rotation, the resident will write a report and deliver a 15-minute presentation on a molecular topic of their choice (e.g. discuss the molecular aspects of a disease, a gene, a molecular technology; or write a case report).

Method of Resident Supervision and Evaluation: After participating in scheduled laboratory and didactic sessions overseen by faculty and staff, the resident delivers an oral presentation and, within one week of completing the course, submits a written report or powerpoint presentation. The course director oversees all training activities and evaluates the performance of each trainee.

Course Director: Margaret L. Gulley, MD (margaret_gulley@med.unc.edu)

Faculty: Bagnell, Banks, Basinger, Billings, Booker, Callanan, Coleman, Dunphy, Evans, Farber, Fiscus, Friedman, Funkhouser, Gilligan, Gulley, Johnson, Kaiser-Rogers, Keelean-Fuller, Miller, Orton, Perou, Petch, Powell, Rao, Schmitz, Shaheen, Thorne, Weck, fellows, technologists, and others.

Registration: Anatomic and Clinical Pathology Residents at UNC are required to complete the course, usually in their second or third year of training. Participants from other departments / institutions may attend at a cost of $1200 each. Training occurs at UNC Hospitals from 9-5pm weekdays in February 2007. Deadline for registering is January 12, 2007. For registration and additional information contact Dr. Gulley at margaret_gulley@med.unc.edu.