Dreaming about the career counselling genie (genome)
, Genomics as a career option
The U.S personal genome project , an offshoot of the human genome project aims to enrol 1,00,000 informed participants for its program. It is recruiting volunteers who will be willing to share their genome sequence with their research community and the general public. The project was started in 2009 and so far has about 1000 participants. The project “hopes to make personal genome sequencing affordable, accessible and useful to humankind”.
This opens up a new area of thought. Here is an interesting question. How do genes affect one’s ability to do math? I believe there is no direct answer right now. There is one which says, environment and genetics influence intelligence. The family environment and the maternal environment are also included when the term environment is used. Behavioural genetics, the field that studies the role of genetics in animal (including human) behaviour, which I believe is the most interesting part of this entire exercise is still riddled with complications. Right now most behavioural genetics labs are focused on health care and pharmacogenomics. Identifying a pre-disposition or tendency towards certain ailments or conditions and discovering custom drugs seems to be the key thrust areas. For instance, the University of Pennsylvania has a Behavioural Genetics Laboratory dedicated to obesity and related diseases. Now if we can identify pre-dispositions or likely tendencies towards certain subjects or fields of study for the prospective student with gene sequencing, it will revolutionise education. Imagine a scenario where you can get your genome sequence to tell you how likely you are to do well in math as compared to science, or maybe which career path is likely to be less stressful given your behavioural pattern.
Meanwhile here is a DIY suggestion for those who are interested in Genomics and some information or a beginner’s guide to start exploring career options in Genomics
A Career in Genomics
Genomics has become a very promising area. It owes its beginnings probably to the human genome project initiated by the US National institutes of health and U.S Department of Energy in 1990. The project set out to identify the 20,000-25,000 genes in human DNA and the 3 billion base pairs that make up the human DNA. The pairs and the DNA are together known as the Genome. This marked the starting point of the US biotechnology industry, development of medical applications, personalized health care, Pharmacogenomics (custom drugs or personalized medicine), public health genetics, behavioural genetics, application of genomics in agricultural research and more.
Equipping oneself with different sciences not just biology and maths at the undergrad level, along with programming skills, seems to be the best way to launch oneself. The idea is to develop cross-disciplinary capabilities as these seem to be the strengths and skills required for branching out into a career in genomics. The Human genome project site itself identifies the following areas as career options for those who are interested. Medicine (Medical genetics, Genetic counselling, Public health and Pharmacogenomics), Agriculture and Wild life, Bio Informatics, Biomedical Engineering, DNA Forensics, Biological and chemical warfare protection, Functional genomics, Proteomics, Microbial genetics and environmental studies.
(Chitra Bala is a freelance writer. Visit her blog at www.verbalgymnastix.blogspot.com)
