Say hello to Tom Inglehearn. Tom is a Research Co-ordinator in the Genetics Research & Development Team in Leeds. We caught up with Tom to ask about his role within genetics and the future of genomic medicine.
“I work as part of a small research team within the Clinical Genetics Service at Chapel Allerton Hospital. Our function is to identify, obtain consent for, and recruit patients to a range of national and international genetic studies; including but not limited to studies investigating Huntington’s Disease, hereditary cancers, and a variety of rare genetic diseases.”
“I was inspired by a talk given about the Genomics Education initiative aimed at healthcare professionals interested in learning more about genomics. I was fortunate to receive funding to support this and started the MSc in Genomics course in September 2016 at Sheffield University. I am undertaking the MSc on a part-time basis over two years to allow me to continue my role within the R&D team in Leeds.”
“As the capability of regional genetics to diagnose, analyse and interpret genetic aberrations increases (as it has done so dramatically over the last few years and will hopefully continue to do so) the need to equip the NHS workforce with the relevant expertise is becoming increasingly evident, especially with the advent of such endeavours as the Deciphering Developmental Disorders project or the 100,000 Genome Project.”
“I got involved in the Genomic Medicine program because of the enticing prospect of being a part of the integration of genomics into everyday healthcare. For myself, this course is the perfect platform from which to progress to a phD, and then, hopefully, a future in bioinformatics.”