Cytogenetics
Duration: One month
Rotation Director(s): Liming Bao, MD, PhD
Faculty/ Instructor(s):
Howard Saal, MD
Teresa Smolarek, PhD
Sarah Zimmerman, PhD
Description of Rotation:
Residents are required to meet with the rotation director daily to review progress and project(s) assigned. Orientation is provided by the director and the lead technologists.
Rotation Objective
- Demonstrate a satisfactory level of interpretative competence in interpreting clinical cytogenetic results.
- Become familiar with the general area of clinical cytogenetics, common cytogenetic techniques and their applications.
- Recognize fetal pathology associated with a high likelihood of cytogenetic abnormality.
- Understand the difference between hereditary and nonhereditary chromosome abnormalities.
- Recognize the cytogenetic changes associated with specific malignancies.
- Understand modes of heritance and relevant recurrence risks.
- Correlate pathologic features and genetic syndromes.
- Become familiar with basic aspects of molecular genetics diagnosis.
- The rotation may be scheduled at any time at the residency, but it is preferred to be done during the second or third year of the training.
Overall Responsibilities
- Become familiar with cytogenetics procedures.
- Attend arranged lectures on cytogenetics.
- Attend genetics case conferences, seminars and lectures.
- Perform literature reviews on relevant patients.
- Discuss case material as arranged with lab director.
- Perform a presentation to the laboratory staff on topics related to cytogenetics and/or pathology.
Daily Responsibilities
- Learn laboratory methods and principles.
- Learn chromosome identification.
- Perform assigned readings.
- Review literature on current laboratory diagnosis.
- Complete assigned project.
- Communicate cytogenetics results with physicians or genetic counselors.
Evaluation
The rotation performances are evaluated using a numeric score with scale of 1-5: 5 (outstanding), 4 (very good), 3 (satisfactory), 2 (marginal), and 1 (poor). Resident presentations in the laboratory are also evaluated.