Special features of the organization
The Centre for Human Genetics is a centre for research, education and training in areas which lie at the interface of modern genetics and medicine. Besides research and teaching, the Centre provides comprehensive clinical services for a range of genetic disorders and inborn errors of metabolism. During the past few years the Centre s scientists and clinical geneticists have provided diagnostic and counselling services to over 15,000 families with genetic disorders. With generous assistance from the Government of Karnataka, the Centre provides these services free of cost to BPL families seen at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health and other government-funded hospitals. The Centre conducts intensive short-term courses and training programmes in human disease genetics which routinely attract young scientists and clinicians from across the country. The Centre has been assisting medical colleges in several district headquarters in Karnataka to set up their own basic facilities for diagnosis and management of the more common genetic disorders. The Centre s scientists are also engaged in developing low-cost strategies for diagnosis and therapy suitable for local requirements. , , Under its Public Engagement with Genetics programme, CHG provides assistance to parent support groups for families with genetic disorders. CHG is involved in improving public awareness of the ethical, legal and societal issues surrounding advances in human genome research. , , The Centre is located in a 20-acre institutional area within a 80-acre Biotech Park being developed by the Government of Karnataka in Electronics City in south Bangalore. IBAB, an institution specializing in Bioinformatics, and a Bio-IT Centre promoted jointly by the Ministry of IT, Government of India and the Government of Karnataka are next door. The Centre for Human Genetics is an academic partner in the Bio-IT Centre, which is equipped with NGS platforms. BBC, the Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre, is located behind CHG s laboratories. There are two health universities and several major hospitals in south Bangalore, among them NIMHANS, St. Johns and the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Heath. There is also a Health City coming up nearby, which includes Narayana Hrudayalaya and the new Mazumdar-Shaw Cancer Center. CHG s present location therefore provides obvious advantages for postgraduate teaching and research in Human Genetics. , , A post-doctoral Fellowship programme in Paediatric Genetics is being conducted by the Centre in collaboration with the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health. The Centre offers a two-year Master s degree programme in Human Disease Genetics under the aegis of Mysore University. The latter is a blend of formal teaching, laboratory exercises, case studies and activity-based learning. It provides hands-on training in human genetics via a combination of cell and molecular biology, genetics and clinical biology, including the use of statistical techniques. This interdisciplinary course has been designed to bridge the gap between clinical and basic biology.
