The State Council on Higher Education in Virginia recently approved our request to transition the Center for Public Health Genomics (CPHG) to departmental status, as the Department of Genome Sciences. This department is the ninth research department in the University of Virginia School of Medicine (SOM), effective July 17, 2024.
The CPHG was launched in January 2007 under the leadership of founding director Stephen Rich, PhD, with the primary objective of creating a dynamic, interdisciplinary network of researchers. Its goal is to foster scientific programs that bridge laboratory and population-based approaches to investigate the etiology of complex human diseases.
After months of internal review by the Dean’s office in 2023 and in coordination with faculty from the Department of Public Health Sciences and the CPHG, department chairs, center directors, and the Provost, we determined that since the CPHG was functioning as a department it should officially become a department. The new Department of Genome Sciences will showcase the institution’s dedication to human genome research.
Charles Farber, PhD
The creation of the Department of Genome Sciences also signals the commitment by the SOM toward advancing genetics and genomics research. With this change, the SOM will enhance its ability to recruit and retain talented faculty performing cutting-edge research in genome sciences and improve our faculty’s potential to secure large extramural grants focused on genome science.
Charles R. Farber, PhD, director of the CPHG since January 1, 2022, will lead the new department as its inaugural chair.