The Department of Genetics at Washington University School of Medicine marked a significant milestone on April 24th, 2025 with its 50th Anniversary Symposium, held at the Moore Auditorium. The event brought together over 300 past and present faculty, students, and postdoctoral researchers to celebrate the department’s rich history and its ongoing contributions to the field of genetics and genomics.
Established in 1975, the Department of Genetics has been at the forefront of groundbreaking research, including pioneering efforts in sequencing Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Caenorhabditis elegans in the 1980s and 1990s. Notably, the department contributed 25% of the finished sequence to the Human Genome Project. In 2001, it launched one of the world’s first Computational Biology PhD programs, solidifying its leadership in genomic medicine and computational biology.
Recorded Sessions
The symposium featured keynote addresses from two distinguished leaders in genomics:
- Dr. Robert H. “Bob” Waterston, Professor of Genome Sciences at the University of Washington, who led the sequencing of the C. elegans genome and played a pivotal role in the Human Genome Project. (2:52:23 – 3:19:47)
- Dr. Eric Green, Former Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, whose career has been deeply intertwined with the department’s history, having received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Washington University in 1987. (3:20:06 – 4:06:49)
The event also featured a diverse lineup of speakers from various institutions, reflecting the department’s broad impact across multiple disciplines within genetics.
Additional Speakers:
- Swathi Arur, PhD – Professor, Department of Genetics, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (05:25 – 26:10)
- Katherine (K-T) Varley, PhD – Investigator, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah (2:07:08 – 2:29:21)
- William E. Gillanders, MD – Mary Culver Distinguished Professor of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (1:28:26 – 2:07:00)
- Chris Todd Hittinger, PhD – Professor & Director, J.F. Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution, University of Wisconsin–Madison (46:44 – 1:07:10)
- Justin Gerke, PhD – Genome and Molecular Data Science Lead, Corteva Agriscience
- Heather Broihier, PhD – Professor, Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University (4:07:10 – 4:28:07)
- Kai Tan, PhD – Professor of Pediatrics (Oncology), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania (2:29:25 – 2:50:00)
- John McCutcheon, PhD – Associate Center Director & Professor, Biodesign Center for Mechanisms of Evolution, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University (26:12 – 1:07:09)
- Christina A. Gurnett, MD, PhD – A. Ernest and Jane G. Stein Professor of Neurology, Head, Division of Pediatric and Developmental Neurology, Chief of Neurology, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (5:12:31 – 5:24:27)
- Victoria Brown-Kennerly, PhD – Assistant Professor of Biology, Director of the Computational Biology Program, Webster University (4:49:47 – 5:04:35)
- Alison Albee, PhD – Professor, Biology, College of Science Technology and Health, Lindenwood University (5:05:10 – 5:12:03)
- James McCarter, MD, PhD – Senior Managing Director at BioGenerator Ventures, Senior Vice President BioSTL (1:07:18 – 1:28:10)
- Donald F. Conrad, PhD – Associate Professor, Chief, Division of Genetics, Oregon National Primate Research Center (4:28:28 – 4:49:28)
- James Allen, PhD – HHMI Hanna Gray Research Fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital (1:49:30 – 2:06:57)
- Jeffrey Milbrandt, MD, PhD – James S. McDonnell Professor, Department of Genetics and Executive Director, McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (5:24:33 – 5:52:18)
- Ting Wang, PhD – The Sanford and Karen Loewentheil Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Head, Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (5:53:40 – 5:58:38)
The day concluded with a reception, providing an opportunity for attendees to network and discuss future directions in genetic research.