Sarah Lawrence College—for three decades a leader in Genetic Counseling and Health Advocacy master’s programs—is now offering a Public Health Genetics/Genomics (PHG) Certificate Program developed for healthcare professionals who seek a career change or advancement.

Why Public Health Genetics/Genomics?

A major change is taking place in the field of human genetics. The focus is shifting from rare, single-gene disorders to common complex diseases that involve multiple genes, gene-gene and/or gene-environment interactions. In public health there is the realization that to understand disease, populations will not only be stratified by their illnesses and/or "exposure" to environmental agents, but also by their biology—their DNA. As these two disciplines intersect and illnesses become increasingly "geneticized," technologies will allow for screening and/or pre-symptomatic testing for many illnesses. These developments, in turn, raise new ethical, legal and social issues.

Pioneer A New Career Path

Now and in the future, the interdisciplinary training at the juncture of public health and genetics/genomics is more critical than ever before. Professionals trained in this area will be essential to ensuring the translation of research into practice at both the individual and societal levels. The Sarah Lawrence College Public Health Genetics/Genomics program was first offered in June 2006 and has had over 30 attendees from eight different states, representing a wide variety of professions, in its first two years.