Graduate program in the Department of Human Genetics
The Graduate program in the Department of Human Genetics focuses on the study of basic principles of genetics and genomics as applied to human disease. We provide broad training in experimental genetics and genomics, statistical and population genetics, bioinformatics, and clinical genetics. A common theme throughout our research is the application of basic genetic principles and strategies to the study of disease mechanism, disease susceptibility, and the genetic architecture of complex traits.
![Software identified the METTL3 gene (left) as a potential "driver gene" for bladder cancer. The closeups below show areas with genetic mutations.](/sites/hgen/files/styles/medium/public/migrated/news/images/mettl-genes-article.jpg?h=1a8a6d5f&itok=y2iExaLz "Software identified the METTL3 gene (left) as a potential "driver gene" for bladder cancer. The closeups below show areas with genetic mutations.")
Spotlights
Spotlight: UC COMBO Unlocking the code for a new generation of scientists
Maggie Steiner, Human Genetics PhD’25, vividly recounts the first time she saw UC COMBO, a trainee-led organization at the University of Chicago, come to life.
“We were in a room with 70 middle schoolers,” she said, recalling the inaugural workshop the group held about three years ago at Gunsaulus Scholastic Academy on Chicago’s West Side. “The programming ran smoothly, our volunteers were amazing, and I remember just standing there thinking—this is what we’ve been working toward.”
That workshop, part of a renewed initiative to bring computational biology into middle and high school classrooms, marked the successful relaunch and rebranding of UC COMBO (short for Computational Biology Outreach) after the pandemic forced an earlier version of the group to pause operations.
Read the full story.