Pediatrics About Us Message from the Chair Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Contact Us Education & Training Residency Programs Fellowship Programs Research Faculty & Labs Scholarly Activity Divisional Expertise Allergy/Immunology Cardiology Child Abuse Critical Care Developmental & Behavioral Endocrinology Gastroenterology General Pediatrics Genetic & Genomic Medicine Hematology Hospitalist Infectious Diseases Metabolic Disorders Neonatal/Perinatal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatric Surgery Pulmonology Rheumatology Faculty Division of Genetic & Genomic Medicine Home About Campus & Community Resources Pediatrics: Divisional Expertise > Genetic & Genomic Medicine Advances in Genetic & Genomic Medicine Recent advances in medical genetics have made it possible for many people and their families to obtain more accurate information about their chances for developing a genetic disorder or hereditary cancer. Preconception and prenatal genetic consultation can also help couples learn about possible risks to their offspring. Our Mission Our mission is to integrate new genetic technologies with comprehensive and compassionate healthcare so we can help people understand and adapt to the implications of genetic variation for their health. Our faculty consists of medical geneticists and genetic counselors who are experts in diagnosing hereditary conditions, supporting individuals with making decisions about whether to have genetic testing, interpreting test results and providing education that can be helpful to them, their family members and their healthcare providers. Education We offer a medical genetics residency program and a master's program in genetic counseling. Medical Genetics Residency Program The Medical Genetics Residency Program trains physicians who, through their expertise in genetic and genomic medicine, will become leaders in the application of genetic and genomic information to the healthcare of our patients. The program options are: A two-year, categorical Medical (Clinical) Genetics and Genomics Residency that requires prior satisfactory completion of 24 months of direct patient-care-related, ACGME-accredited residency training in a specialty other than medical genetics and genomics. A four-year, combined Pediatrics/Medical (Clinical) Genetics and Genomics training program. Medical Genetics Residency Program Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling Our Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling is committed to training professionals who are prepared to help people understand and adapt to the implications of genetic information on their lives and those of family members. Genetic Counseling M.S. Program Research Our division faculty are actively involved in research projects to increase our understanding of the genetic basis of various medical conditions. Mendelian Genomics Research Center (MGRC) Led by Eric Vilain, MD, PhD, the MGRC innovates through a partnership between UCI, Children’s National Hospital, an acute and specialty care pediatric hospital in Washington, D.C., and Invitae Corporation, a CLIA-certified clinical genetics testing laboratory in San Francisco, Calif. The MGRC is one of five genomics research centers participating in the GREGoR Consortium under the NIH. It houses a cohort of interdisciplinary faculty and support staff, including clinical geneticists, translational researchers, genetic counselors, molecular geneticists, bioinformaticians, clinical biochemical geneticists and others. The center’s goals are to: Identify novel causes of Mendelian conditions Disambiguate uncertain variants and investigate the mechanisms of undiagnosed Mendelian conditions, and Disseminate findings to enable translational research on new and rare Mendelian conditions. Diagnostic Center of Excellence in Neurogenetics and Neurometabolism Led by an interdisciplinary team, including neurologists Changrui Xiao, MD, and Tahseen Mozaffar, MD, and doctors Eric Vilain and Jose Abdenur, this center serves as a regional center for the Undiagnosed Diseases Network, a national network of referral sites for patients with undiagnosed rare diseases. This collaborative program leverages clinical and research programs across the UCI ecosystem to bring a wide breadth of experts together with the common aim of facilitating the discovery of rare genetic conditions. Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network Virginia Kimonis, MD, manages a component of this network, focusing on Prader-Willi syndrome, Rett syndrome and Angelman syndrome. While each condition is individually rare, research findings can lead to important insight into treatment strategies for these conditions and may have major implications for other disorders. Cardiogenomics Clinical and Research Program In addition to his clinical expertise in working with individuals with cardiomyopathies and congenital heart disease, Michael Zaragoza, MD, PhD, also has an active research program focused on identifying and characterizing the genetic variants that contribute to the risk for these conditions. Support research into rare and genetic diseases Division of Genetic & Genomic Medicine Faculty Meghan T. Blunt, MS, LCGC HS Assistant Professor, Pediatrics Elizabeth Carol Chao, MD Assistant Professor, Division of Genetic and Genomic Medicine, Pediatrics Director, Molecular Genetics Makenna DuBois, MS Assistant Professor — Division of Genetic and Genomic Medicine, Pediatrics Pamela L. Flodman, MSc, MS Associate Adjunct Professor, Pediatrics Director, Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling Linda Freedkin, MS Assistant Professor — Division of Genetic and Genomic Medicine, Pediatrics Natalie M. Gallant, MD Associate Professor — Division of Genetic and Genomic Medicine, Pediatrics Meghan Elizabeth Gillespie, MS, LCGC Assistant Professor — Division of Genetic and Genomic Medicine, Pediatrics Jaclyn Greenwood, MS Assistant Professor — Division of Genetic and Genomic Medicine, Pediatrics Pagination Current page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Next page Next › Last page Last » Volunteer Faculty Jose Abdenur, MD Richard Chang, MD Cristel Chapel-Cresto, MD Suellen Hopfer, MD Manuel Porto, MD Leslie Raffel, MD FACMG Maya Thangavelu, PhD Valerie Watiker, MS, MD, CGC, FACMG Recall Faculty Kathryn Steinhaus-French, MS, LCGC Maureen Bocian, MD, MS Moyra Smith, MD, PhD, MFA Connect with Us For more information about the Division of Genetic and Genomic's education and research programs, please contact us at 714-456-5791. Contact us Clinical Services For information on patient care, please visit our healthcare website. There, you will find comprehensive information on genetic evaluation, testing and counseling services, including details on our dedicated healthcare providers. Clinical Services