# Genomic Medicine Master of Science (M.S.) Degree Program

> **NIH NIH R25** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $486,000

## Abstract

As DNA sequencing becomes faster and cheaper, utilization of whole exome sequencing (ES) and whole
genome sequencing (GS) as a diagnostic tool has become widespread. It is essential that physicians understand
when these tests should be ordered, how to interpret and use the test results including variants of uncertain
significance and secondary findings, and understand the ethical, legal and social issues generated by these
results. Recent surveys of medical students at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) revealed
a desire to learn more about genetic testing and its broad application to clinical medicine. To this end, we
developed the Genomic Medicine Translational Science course (Genomic Medicine TS course) for the 3rd and
4th year JHUSOM medical students. This active learning course consists of three 5-hour days during
intersession of the academic years with the objectives of improving the medical students’ understanding of ES
and GS. From 2017 to 2022, 296 students took the Genomic Medicine elective. To achieve the course objectives,
we developed (and made freely available) the PhenoDB Teaching Tool with accompanying phenotypic and ES
data to be analyzed as proband only, in a family setting or cohorts of patients with a particular phenotype. Since
2015, we have used the Genomic Medicine TS course curriculum, tools and resources to teach in the annual
McKusick Short Course offered collaboratively by the Jackson Laboratory and JHUSOM. In 2021, with the
Brazilian Society of Medical Genetics, we used these materials to teach >350 participants from South America
and Europe. In 2022, we guided the faculty at UNIFESP on implementing the Genomic Medicine course
curriculum to teach 36 medical and graduate students and postdocs in that Institution.
 A much more in-depth Genomic Medicine education, as provided by a M.S. degree, would prepare the
trainees for careers analyzing the human genome in academic research centers, government, and industry,
including biotechnology firms, pharmaceutical companies, and clinical laboratories. It would also help clinical
guideline developers provide evidence-based genetic/genomic interpretation to properly use genomic
information for patient health care decision-making. Thus, there is a great need for master’s education programs
that provide health professional and related trainees with the knowledge and skills required to manipulate,
annotate, and interpret human genome data, and a foundation for pursuing genomics research. To address this
need, we will leverage our evolving expertise in analysis of genomic data and education (Nara Sobreira, Joann
Bodurtha, David Valle, Weiyi Mu, Nancy Hueppchen, Kim Doheny, Winston Timp, Xiao Peng, Jim Stevenson,
Dane Witmer, Carolyn Applegate) and the unique tools and resources available at JHUSOM such as the ones
offered by the Office of Online Education (Robert Kearns), by the Johns Hopkins Advanced Academic Programs
(Robert Lessick), and PhenoDB Teaching Tool to ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10768815
- **Project number:** 1R25HG012726-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Nara Sobreira
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $486,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-01 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10768815

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10768815, Genomic Medicine Master of Science (M.S.) Degree Program (1R25HG012726-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10768815. Licensed CC0.

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