The Division of Laboratory Genetics at Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester, Minnesota, aims to provide appropriate, accurate, timely, and cost-effective testing for medical disorders (both constitutional and oncology) in order to improve and enhance patient care. Within each laboratory, board certified directors and genetic counselors work closely with laboratory supervisors and technologists to ensure that accurate, reliable results are available in a timely manner.

The three-year Laboratory Genetics and Genomics Fellowship offers postdoctoral laboratory genetics and genomics (LGG) training leading to board-eligibility in laboratory genetics through the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ABMGG). The primary goal of the program is to prepare you to function as a technical laboratory director proficient in the interpretation of both clinical cytogenetic and molecular genetic testing relevant to the diagnosis and management of human genetic disease.

Upon completion of the fellowship, you will have knowledge of relevant management and counseling issues regarding a wide range of genetic disorders and be capable of communicating pertinent information to other medical professionals, and to the individual or family.

Accreditation

The program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

Certification

Individuals completing the three-year Laboratory Genetics and Genomics Fellowship are eligible to take the General Examination and relevant specialty examination offered by the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ABMGG).

Program history

The Mayo Clinic Cytogenetics Laboratory was established by Gordon Dewald, Ph.D., in the 1970s. The Clinical Cytogenetics Fellowship was accredited by the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ABMGG) in 1986.

The Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory at Mayo Clinic was established by Stephen N. Thibodeau, Ph.D., in 1987. The Clinical Molecular Genetics Fellowship was accredited by the ABMGG in 1991. In response to the evolving nature of laboratory genetics and the adaption of genomic testing in the clinical environment using both traditional cytogenetic as well as molecular genetic technologies, on Jan. 1, 2017, the molecular and cytogenetics laboratories were combined into one genomics laboratory.

Each fellowship program started with a single fellow. Due to growth at Mayo Clinic in both subspecialties and the popularity of the fellowships, we expanded to two cytogenetics fellows and three molecular fellows. Each program has dozens of graduates, many of whom are currently employed at Mayo Clinic.

Late spring in 2016, the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics announced, "the ABMGG is merging the specialties of cytogenetics and genomics, and molecular genetics and genomics into a single specialty named 'laboratory genetics and genomics' (LGG)." We are currently in the process of applying for accreditation for Mayo Clinic's new LGG fellowship, while also honoring commitments to current trainees who began their training in either cytogenetics or molecular genetics prior to this announcement.

The first LGG fellows will begin July 2017. Going forward, it is anticipated that the LGG program will have a total of five fellows training each year.

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