ASHG works toward achieving its mission through the following initiatives:

Advancing Research in Human Genetics
ASHG provides venues to share the newest basic research findings, technological advances and applications of human genetics in the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of health conditions. The ASHG Annual Meeting serves as the primary venue for interaction among human genetics professionals, and has an annual attendance of nearly 5,000. In addition, ASHG publishes The American Journal of Human Genetics, a highly-regarded scientific research journal that is issued monthly.

Genetics Education: Public Health Initiatives
ASHG’s primary educational objectives are to promote awareness of human genetics, encourage young people to enter genetics-related careers, and foster trust and support for genetics research. ASHG accomplishes those goals by educating students, health care professionals, health policy makers, the media, and the public about human genetics and its translation to health care practice.

ASHG’s genetics education initiatives for consumers and the media primarily focus on information about basic scientific concepts in human genetics research including:

• Advances in human genetics research and clinical applications

• The role of genes and the environment in influencing health and disease

• The importance of family health history information

• Direct-to-consumer genetic testing and test regulation

• Genetic discrimination and related health care legislation

ASHG also works in partnership with other genetics organizations that promote educational programs and resources for consumers and health care providers
 

Genetics Education: From Classroom to Career

The mission of ASHG’s education division is to promote genetics education at all levels, K-16 and beyond. To fulfill this mission, ASHG sponsors a number of education programs throughout the year and at our annual meeting. Please visit our education Web site for more information on the Society’s various education programs and resources.

K-12 Education & Outreach
ASHG is one of the leading supporters of National DNA Day through its sponsorship of the ASHG Annual DNA Day Essay Contest for high school students. The Society also hosts the Genetics Education and Outreach Network to speak to audiences at local DNA Day events and year round. Network members and teachers can access our Genetics Education State Standards, a standards-based tool that helps instructors identify quality educational materials. ASHG also invites 250 high school student and their teachers to attend an interactive full-day workshop in association with our annual meeting.

Undergraduate Education & Outreach
ASHG encourages its members to contribute content to WikiGenetics.org to build up a digital repository of reliable and accurate genetics content. Each year at the ASHG Annual Meeting, the Society hosts a full-day workshop for genetics instructors, which focuses on resources and pedagogy for teaching genetics effectively.

Human Genetics Graduate/Postgraduate Professional Training & Career Development
ASHG provides an online Graduate Training Program Guide for programs in human genetics and a career toolkit for ASHG trainee members, which includes a searchable job bank.

Fostering Collaboration between IHEs and K-12
ASHG strongly supports the involvement of faculty in institutions of higher education (IHEs) with their colleagues in K-12 science education. Our NSF-supported Geneticist-Educator Network of Alliances (GENA) Program partners ASHG geneticists with high school biology teachers to improve student learning. We also provide resources to facilitate the scholarly publication of genetics education research.

Policy/Advocacy Efforts

ASHG works with a number other partner organizations as an advocate helping to support and augment efforts to further the interests of human genetics in public policy and legislation. The Society frequently addresses political and ethical issues in human genetics such as: genetic information privacy and non-discrimination legislation, stem cell research, intellectual property issues (including patenting and licensing), issues surrounding genetics and race, translation of genetic testing into health care practice, and the regulation and quality control of genetic tests (including direct-to-consumer genetic tests). Please see the ASHG Policy and Position Statement Archives for more information.

ASHG has been working with the Coalition for Genetic Fairness, though a primary partnership with the Genetic Alliance, to support the passage of the federal Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA). The ASHG also partners with the National Human Genome Institute (NHGRI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish and support a Public Policy Fellowship to train the next generation of advocates who will work to gain support for policies and legislative efforts that espouse human genetics interests.

In collaboration with the Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology (FASEB), Research!America and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the Society works each year to enhance federal funding for research, with a particular (but not exclusive) focus on National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding support.

FASEB Member Society:

ASHG is a member of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), a coalition of independent societies that serve the interests of biomedical and life scientists. FASEB’s mission is to support its constituent societies and advance biological science. These dual objectives are achieved through collaborative advocacy for research policies that promote scientific progress and education, and lead to improvements in human health. For more information, please visit the FASEB Web site, or read our fact sheet: “What is FASEB Anyway?”

Professional/Medical Board?:
Yes; The American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG)

Paid Staff?

Yes; ASHG employs 12-15 full-time staff members.