Genetics
Genetics researchers at the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine investigate how genetic material, or DNA, influences health and wellbeing throughout our whole lives.
Scientists who study genetics look closely at the genetic information each of us inherits from our parents. A person’s genetic information can influence their health throughout their lives. Many medical conditions are influenced or caused by genetics.
What we do
Our research combines the latest computer and experimental technologies to understand how a person’s entire genetic make-up - known as their genome - influences their susceptibility to disease.
We study how variations in DNA affect how the cells, molecules and tissues of the human body work, as well as how these variations influence our susceptibility to disease. Our scientists work closely with medical doctors to translate this knowledge for the benefit of people who have rare genetic conditions and for the wider population.
We also study how genetics affects animal health, including livestock species, pets and wild animals.
Where we do it
Many of our genetics researchers work at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer (IGC), which is also home to the Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, the Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, and the Cancer Research UK Edinburgh Centre.
IGC is on the Western General Hospital campus, with more than 600 research and support scientists it is one of the largest centres for human genetics in the world. Researchers in the Usher Institute and Centre for Global Health carry out studies to investigate genetic factors underpinning health and disease in families and populations, and how these factors interact with environmental factors to influence disease risk.
Our research into animal genetics is carried out at the Roslin Institute within the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies. We are also a strategic partner in the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health with Scotland’s Rural College and the International Livestock Research Institute, with research nodes in Scotland, Kenya and Ethiopia.
Study
Postgraduate study opportunities, including PhDs and Masters programmes at IGC:
Graduate Research and Training
Postgraduate study opportunities at the Roslin Institute:
PhD and MScR in Genetics and Genomics
Explore
Institute of Genetics and Cancer