The Role of the European Society of Human Genetics in Delivering Genomic Education

Edward S Tobias; Elena Avram; Patricia Calapod; Christophe Cordier; Johan T den Dunnen; Can Ding; Vita Dolzan; Sofia Douzgou Houge; Sally Ann Lynch; James O'Byrne; Philippos Patsalis; Inga Prokopenko; Celia A Soares; Adam P Tobias; William G Newman

doi:10.3389/fgene.2021.693952

The Role of the European Society of Human Genetics in Delivering Genomic Education

Front Genet. 2021 Sep 3:12:693952. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2021.693952. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Edward S Tobias^{1

2

3}, Elena Avram^{4

5}, Patricia Calapod⁶, Christophe Cordier⁷, Johan T den Dunnen^{8

9}, Can Ding¹⁰, Vita Dolzan¹¹, Sofia Douzgou Houge^{12

13

14}, Sally Ann Lynch¹⁵, James O'Byrne¹⁶, Philippos Patsalis^{17

18}, Inga Prokopenko^{19

20}, Celia A Soares^{21

22}, Adam P Tobias²³, William G Newman^{12

13

14}

Affiliations

¹ Academic Unit of Medical Genetics and Clinical Pathology, Laboratory Medicine Building, Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
² School of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
³ Clinical Genetics, West of Scotland Centre for Genomic Medicine, Laboratory Medicine Bldg., NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
⁴ MedLife, Bucharest, Romania.
⁵ Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania.
⁶ European Society of Human Genetics, Gothenburg, Sweden.
⁷ Department of Genetics, CC-SYNLAB Suisse SA, Lausanne, Switzerland.
⁸ Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands.
⁹ Department of Clinical Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands.
¹⁰ Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Centre of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany.
¹¹ Pharmacogenetics Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
¹² Department of Medical Genetics, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.
¹³ Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine, Saint Mary's Hospital, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, United Kingdom.
¹⁴ Division of Evolution and Genomic Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
¹⁵ Clinical Genetics, Children's Health Ireland at Crumlin and Temple Street, Dublin, Ireland.
¹⁶ National Centre for Inherited Metabolic Diseases, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
¹⁷ NIPD Genetics Limited, Nicosia, Cyprus.
¹⁸ Department of Basic and Clinical Sciences, University of Nicosia Medical School, Nicosia, Cyprus.
¹⁹ Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom.
²⁰ Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
²¹ Centro de Genética Médica Jacinto Magalhães, Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
²² Unit for Multidisciplinary Research in Biomedicine, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar/Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
²³ Edinburgh Medical School, College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

Abstract

The European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) was founded in 1967 as a professional organisation for members working in genetics in clinical practice, research and education. The Society seeks the integration of scientific research and its implementation into clinical practice and the education of specialists and the public in all areas of medical and human genetics. The Society works to do this through many approaches, including educational sessions at the annual conference; training courses in general and specialist areas of genetics; an online resource of educational materials (EuroGEMS); and a mentorship scheme. The ESHG Education Committee is implementing new approaches to expand the reach of its educational activities and portfolio. With changes in technology, appreciation of the utility of genomics in healthcare and the public's and patients' increased awareness of the role of genomics, this review will summarise how the ESHG is adapting to deliver innovative educational activity.

Keywords: Education Committee; EuroGEMS; European Society of Human Genetics; courses/diffusion; education; genomics; massive open online course; mentorship.