Education

Medical Student Education

The Division of Pediatric Genetics and Metabolism has taken a major role in the education of medical students at UT Southwestern. 

First-Year Medical Students

Courses for first-year medical students include:

  • Medical Biochemistry Course: protein and amino acid metabolism, hyperammonemia and urea cycle defects, effects in amino acid metabolism (PKU, MSUD, etc.), purine and pyrimidine metabolism, and treatment of inborn errors of metabolism
  • Medical Genetics Course: population genetics, inborn errors of metabolism, assessing genetic risk/pedigree analysis, genetic screening, genetic counseling, and ethical issues in genetics
  • Medical Embryology Course

Third-Year Medical Students

Third-year medical students participate in pediatrics rotations involving:

  • Issues in clinical genetics: cases
  • Genetics clinic outpatient rotations
  • Floor attending in General Pediatrics
  • Clinical genetics consultations

Fourth-Year Medical Students

We offer an elective in clinical genetics to fourth-year medical students involving outpatient genetics clinics and inpatient genetics consultations.

Resident Education

We play a major role in the education of residents at UT Southwestern.  Some of our activities include:

Medical Genetics

The Department of Pediatrics through the Division of Pediatric Genetics and Metabolism is the sponsoring clinical department for our ACGME certified training program in Medical Genetics.  Medical Genetics is a specialty of its own, rather than being a subspecialty of Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, or Obstetrics/Gynecology.  The training program encompasses many clinical departments at UT Southwestern, including Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics/Gynecology (prenatal diagnosis), Neurology and Pathology (Clinical Molecular Genetics, Cytogenetics, and Biochemical Genetics), among others.

Given its interdepartmental nature, the residency is managed through the McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development, the Genetics Center of UT Southwestern.  Learn more about the Medical Genetics program.

Pediatrics

The Division provides didactic teaching for the pediatric residents, including but not limited to:

  • Clinical dysmorphology
  • Cause and evaluation of birth defects
  • Common chromosome anomalies
  • Newborn screening
  • Acute metabolic disorders
  • Genetic storage disorders

We provide direct teaching for the residents in the regular departmental clinical conferences, as well as part of our inpatient consultation service.

Finally, there is a Clinical Genetics elective available for second- and third-year pediatric residents.  The residents see outpatients in our clinics and inpatients for consultation services under the supervision of one of the members of the Division faculty.  We encourage the residents to participate in clinical research projects if they are interested.

Other Specialties

Trainees in other departments also spend time in our clinics.  Residents in Neurology, Pathology, and other specialties may receive some of their training through our Division.

Postdoctoral Fellow Education

Unlike other subspecialties, training in genetics crosses departmental lines and is considered a residency rather than a fellowship.  The Department of Pediatrics is the sponsoring clinical department, and the residency is managed through the McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development, the Genetics Center at UT Southwestern.