Dysmorphology in the Genomics Era
The 9th Annual ESHG-sponsored course in Manchester
The 9th Manchester Dysmorphology in the Genomic Era course was held in The Nowgen Centre at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) in April which builds networks between young doctors from all over the world and promotes research collaborations.
The annual course had a 25% increase in numbers, with 52 delegates from 26 countries attending and 14 scholarships were awarded from the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) and the European Reference Network ERN-Ithaca.
Led by Professor Jill Clayton-Smith, ERN-Ithaca is a network of rare disease specialists, patients and lay groups from across 13 European countries (with more to follow). The aim is to further patient care, research and access to information in rare congenital malformations and rare intellectual disability disorders.
Although a European course welcoming young doctors from all over Europe and enabling access from less wealthy European countries, 7 delegates attended from beyond Europe; New York, Saudi, India, Malaysia, Palestine and Argentina. Demonstrating the widening reach of the Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine (MCGM), a leading centre for clinical genomics in Europe.
The faculty was almost all Manchester-based from MFT and The University of Manchester and MCGM based at Saint Mary’s Hospital. There are few other centres in Europe who have the breadth and depth of expertise to be able to offer such a course.
Organisers were Professor Dian Donnai, Dr Sid Banka, Dr Sofia Douzgou and Professor Jill Clayton-Smith
