Departmental Activities
In addition to the formal academic requirements outlined in previous sections, students are expected to participate in various departmental activities.
Journal Club and Research-in-Progress
Departmental Journal Club meets Tuesday mornings from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. in Brady Auditorium (B131). Members of the faculty and research staff present new and exciting papers from the literature.
During the second half of the spring semester, the graduate students conduct a Research-in-Progress series in which two students talk about their research every Tuesday. Students are expected to attend Journal Club and Research-in-Progress and are encouraged to participate in the discussion.
Seminars
Genetics Seminars are held on Tuesday afternoons at 4:00 p.m. in Brady Auditorium preceded by coffee/tea at 3:45 p.m. Geneticists from around the world are invited to describe their research. Students are expected to attend Genetics seminars. Interested students will be invited to meet with seminar speakers for an informal lunch. In addition, students are encouraged to invite and serve as host for two speakers each year.
Retreat
The Department Retreat, a weekend program of informal research talks and discussions, is scheduled for October 26-27, 2012 at the Inn at Jiminy Peak, Massachusetts. Faculty, students and fellows attend this function. This Retreat provides an outstanding opportunity to keep up to date with the diverse research underway in the department and to participate in vigorous scientific discussions. Students are expected to attend the Retreat, and are encouraged to present their research in a poster session. For information about the 2012 Genetics Retreat, see faculty member Marc Hammarlund or Nel Brewster in the Genetics Administrative Office.
Clinical Genetics Conferences
Students and other non-clinical members of the Department are invited to attend the Clinical Genetics Conferences, in which clinical cases recently referred to the Genetics Consultation Service are presented and discussed. This provides exposure to genetic problems as they present in families and individuals.
The postdoctoral clinical fellow and the attending physician on service are responsible for the presentations, and other specialists are frequently invited to participate. Although patients presented are not identified by name, the rules of confidentiality of patient-related information (according to standard medical practice) are extended to all those participating in the conferences. The conferences are held on Tuesdays at 10:45 a.m. (after Journal Club) in SHM I-304, and last 1 hour. Topics are generally posted in the Genetics Clinic Office, WWW 305.
