Program description: The McLendon Clinical Laboratories of UNC Hospitals offer training in Clinical Molecular Genetics, leading to eligibility for certification by the American Board of Medical Genetics (ABMG). The usual training period is two years. Applications are due on December 1 for a start date on July 1 of the following year.

The Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory at UNC provides experience with tests including cystic fibrosis, fragile X mental retardation, hemochromatosis, factor V Leiden and prothrombin, a1-antitrypsin deficiency, MERRF and MELAS, connexin mutations, hereditary cancers, EBV viral load, and chromosomal breakpoints in leukemias, as well as monitoring of bone marrow transplants with polymorphic microsatellite markers. State-of-the-art technologies and instrumentation are used in all of these tests, and the laboratory has a strong research foundation.

Our postdoctoral training programs in medical genetics are provided by collaboration among individuals from numerous academic units including Anatomy & Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Genetics, Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Pediatrics, the Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology, the School of Public Health, the Cancer Center, the Center for Genomics, the Neuroscience Center, the Gene Therapy Center, and the Birth Defects Center. The University of North Carolina Hospitals, with a statewide referral base, provide a rich source for clinical experience in all subspecialty areas. Our medical genetics programs have been a focus for statewide referrals since 1970.