Stanford Offers New Online Course in Genomics
The Stanford
Center for Professional Development has launched
a new online course dealing with genomics and genetics. The course, "Personal
Genomics and Your Health," will be offered as an elective counted toward the
Stanford
Genetics and Genomics Certificate.
The new online course will examine the concept of
personalized
medicine and the role genetics can play in health care. Students will
learn
about the general methods used to acquire genetic information, how
pharmacogenomics
can provide more personalized treatment of individual patients and how
technology is impacting the fast-growing field.
Stanford Genetics and Genomics Certificate Academic
Director
Michael Snyder said the hope is that genetics can play a role in
creating
personalized treatment programs for individuals, sometimes even before
they
begin to experience symptoms. This course, Snyder said, will help move
the
field closer to that goal.
"Focusing on individuals, not just the illness,
genomic
sequencing and analysis can help shift medicine from symptom-based to a
model
of prevention and early treatment," Snyder said.
The course will be taught by faculty members of
Stanford
University's School of Medicine. Those who would most benefit from the
course
would be professionals in science and medical fields.
Other courses in the genetics and genomics
certificate program
include gene therapy, agricultural biotechnology, genetic engineering,
stem
cells and understanding cancer.
Acceptance into the certificate program is ongoing
and
interested candidates can apply through the Stanford
Center for Professional
Development.
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.