Training competencies and recommendations for the next generation of public health genetics: Reflections from current leaders in the field

Affiliations

¹ Department of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. Electronic address: diane.xue@pennmedicine.upenn.edu.
² Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Public Health Genetics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Brotman Baty Institute, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
³ Institute for Public Health Genetics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Bioethics and Humanities, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
⁴ Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98101 USA.
⁵ Department of Health Systems and Population Health, University of Washington School of Public Health, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
⁶ Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, CHU Sainte-Justine and Universite de Montreal, Montreal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada; Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Universite de Montreal, Montreal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada.
⁷ Center for Bioethics & Health Law, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
⁸ Center for Precision Medicine and Genomics, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA; Division of Ethics, Department of Medical Humanities and Ethics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA.
⁹ Genetics Program, Washington State Department of Health, Shoreline, WA 98155, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, USA.
¹¹ Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics and Palliative Care, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98101, USA.
¹² Department of Epidemiology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD 21045, USA.
¹³ Institute for Public Health Genetics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Brotman Baty Institute, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Bioethics and Humanities, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics and Palliative Care, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98101, USA; Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
¹⁴ Institute for Public Health Genetics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.

PMID: 41265452
PMCID: PMC12808948 (available on 2026-06-04)
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2025.10.016

Training competencies and recommendations for the next generation of public health genetics: Reflections from current leaders in the field

Diane Xue et al. Am J Hum Genet. 2025.

. 2025 Dec 4;112(12):2860-2869.

doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2025.10.016. Epub 2025 Nov 19.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. Electronic address: diane.xue@pennmedicine.upenn.edu.
² Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute for Public Health Genetics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Brotman Baty Institute, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
³ Institute for Public Health Genetics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Bioethics and Humanities, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
⁴ Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98101 USA.
⁵ Department of Health Systems and Population Health, University of Washington School of Public Health, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
⁶ Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, CHU Sainte-Justine and Universite de Montreal, Montreal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada; Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Universite de Montreal, Montreal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada.
⁷ Center for Bioethics & Health Law, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
⁸ Center for Precision Medicine and Genomics, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA; Division of Ethics, Department of Medical Humanities and Ethics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA.
⁹ Genetics Program, Washington State Department of Health, Shoreline, WA 98155, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, USA.
¹¹ Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics and Palliative Care, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98101, USA.
¹² Department of Epidemiology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD 21045, USA.
¹³ Institute for Public Health Genetics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Brotman Baty Institute, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Bioethics and Humanities, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics and Palliative Care, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98101, USA; Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
¹⁴ Institute for Public Health Genetics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.

PMID: 41265452
PMCID: PMC12808948 (available on 2026-06-04)
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2025.10.016

Abstract

Public health genetics training programs must evolve to meet the changing public health landscape and ever-growing data availability. Yet, the field's interdisciplinary nature poses challenges to training program development. Here, we conducted focus groups (n = 7) with public-health-genetics-related professionals (n = 55) to learn about the skills and knowledge needed for a career in public health genetics. Additional discussion topics included perspectives on curriculum structure, analytic skills, and unneeded content. Focus group transcripts underwent thematic analysis, from which competencies and pedagogical recommendations were derived. Informants across academia, government, and industry represented specialties in bioethics, policy, genetic epidemiology, medical genetics, statistical genetics, and law. Discussions led to 17 competencies that group into four learning goals: (1) foundational knowledge in genetics and public health (e.g., principles of population genetics and history of unethical genomic practices), (2) analytical proficiency (e.g., managing qualitative and quantitative datasets), (3) application of interdisciplinary methods to research design and practice (e.g., developing research questions at the intersection of genomics and health services), and (4) cross-disciplinary collaboration (e.g., cultural and disciplinary humility in communication). Informants recommended pedagogical priorities including strong mentorship, broad core requirements plus specialization tracks, and hands-on, interdisciplinary projects. Conceptual knowledge and critical thinking were emphasized over technical proficiency in specific methods. We translated the recommendations from current experts into guidance for training programs that will best meet the evolving needs of the public health genetics field. Training should emphasize broad foundational knowledge and team science skills to facilitate cross-disciplinary communication and meet emerging challenges.

Keywords: curriculum; genomics education; public health genetics; training.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests.

References

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Training competencies and recommendations for the next generation of public health genetics: Reflections from current leaders in the field

Affiliations

Training competencies and recommendations for the next generation of public health genetics: Reflections from current leaders in the field

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

References

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources