The Duke Laboratory Genetics and Genomics (LGG) Fellowship Program provides postdoctoral fellows with either a PhD or MD with training experience in the Duke Cytogenetics and Duke Molecular Diagnostics Laboratories. The two laboratories share a common laboratory space on the main campus of Duke Hospital, with faculty leadership boarded by the ABMGG in both cytogenetics and molecular genetics. In order to fully integrate the testing of both laboratories, the fellowship is split into focus blocks of constitutional/germline testing, hematologic malignancy testing, and solid tumor testing during which the intent is to learn how both cytogenetic and molecular techniques are employed to answer clinical questions. The LGG fellows will gain experience in a wide range of laboratory techniques, including:
- Chromosome analysis (prenatal, postnatal, bone marrow)
- FISH (constitutional, hematologic malignancy, solid tumor)
- Microarray analysis
- NGS and Sanger sequencing (hematologic malignancy, solid tumor, and constitutional)
- Methylation assays (PWS/AS, MLH1 promoter)
- Carrier screening (cystic fibrosis, hemochromatosis, SMA, Fragile X, etc.)
- qPCR (BCR/ABL1 quantification, somatic mutation detection)
- Somatic mutations and aberrations (MSI, T– and B–cell clonality, IGH somatic mutation, etc.)
- Bone marrow engraftment analysis via STR profiling
The laboratory trainees will also perform rotations within various medical genetics clinics (e.g. general medical genetics clinic, Down syndrome clinic, exome clinic, metabolic clinic), as well as prenatal and hereditary cancer clinics. LGG trainees will also rotate in the Duke Biochemical Genetics Laboratory. There are opportunities to visit other Duke laboratories such as flow cytometry, microbiology, and image cytometry. The majority of the trainee’s time will be spent in the integrated Duke Cytogenetics and Molecular Diagnostics Laboratories.