New department at UT in Memphis focuses on genetics

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center is amplifying its research, teaching and medical care involving genetics with the creation of a genetics department, officials announced.

Robert W. Williams, an experimental neurogeneticist on the universitys faculty for 25 years, is the founding chairman of the new Department of Genetics, Genomics and Informatics.

Williams is the UT-ORNL Governors Chair in Computational Genomics, a program funded by the state and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Forming this department significantly improves our research prospects in the next wave of human genetics, while building on strengths in experimental, molecular and quantitative genetics, Williams said.

The new department is starting with a core faculty of five. Others will be added from UTHSC and elsewhere, including St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital and the University of Memphis.

The department will function as a cross-disciplinary, interdepartmental and intercollegiate unit, and serve as a catalyst for research and teaching, said Dr. David Stern, executive dean of the universitys College of Medicine.

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New department at UT in Memphis focuses on genetics