BIOS Seminar: Genomics

This week, the Biostatistics department is welcoming Dr. Jonathan Berg, a UNC physician and researcher in the Department of Genetics interested in the development and application of genetic tests in patients and their families. The recent revolution in genetic sequencing technology has led to an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the underlying etiology in families with genetic conditions, and yet raises potential pitfalls that must be addressed in order to translate these new technologies into the practice of clinical genomics. Dr. Berg is particularly interested in the range of “incidental” or “secondary” findings that are discovered during the course of genome-scale sequencing, including the pre-test counseling and informed consent process, computational analysis required to determine the likely clinical relevance of variants, best practices for return of these findings to patients, and the impact of genomic findings on patients and their families.