Genetics: Biological And Biomedical Sciences in Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

Genetics: Biological And Biomedical Sciences in Trinity College Dublin

Students who wish to study Genetics apply to the Biological and Biomedical Sciences Stream (TR060) and may select Genetics as their specialist area for the third and fourth years at the end of the second year.

What is Genetics?

Genetics is the study of genes, genomes and heredity. It has developed rapidly in the last decade as new technology has made it possible to study genes in much greater detail and to rapidly sequence genomes.

A few examples of remarkable advances in knowledge include:

• The discovery of the molecular basis of many inherited disorders
• The application of gene editing to plant and bacterial systems for biotechnology
• The detailed description of the evolutionary relationships of all organisms
• The application of DNA fingerprinting to forensic science

Genetics: The course for you?

If you are interested in understanding the principles of inheritance; how genetic mechanisms control different developmental and physiological processes in biology; and how a perturbation of these mechanisms leads to disorders and diseases, this is the right course for you.

Do you enjoy…

• Exploring the way living things work?
• Understanding the power behind all biological systems?
• Gathering evidence to support new theories and ideas?

Genetics at Trinity

Genetics is run by the Department of Genetics, which is part of the School of Genetics and Microbiology and is located in the Smurfit Institute of Genetics with state-of-the-art research facilities. There are 12 members of faculty and a number of academic associates, working in a wide range of areas of Genetics areas covering everything from medical genetics, pharmacogenomics, stem cells to evolutionary genetics, bacterial and plant genetics, amongst other areas. The Department of Genetics has an international reputation for high-quality research and more than 50 years of experience in teaching Genetics to undergraduate students. The teaching of the Department is research-driven; undergraduates are taught by research-active scientists with excellent track records in their chosen fields.

Graduate skills and career opportunities

Many Genetics graduates go on to higher degrees (M.Sc. and/or PhD) and take up careers in research in either academia or industry. Opportunities exist in biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, agricultural organisations, medical or clinical diagnostic laboratories, forensics, public health and epidemiology programmes, and in teaching. Other graduates have gone into careers such as medicine, patent law or science journalism. Even if you choose a career not directly related to the scientific subject, the skills of critical thinking and problem solving provided by the Genetics degree will put you in high demand.