The Division consists of four Departments, all of which focus on investigation of the molecular basis of human disease, and how such knowledge can be applied to improved diagnosis and therapy.As an indication of the quality of our research programme, of the four KCL researchers named in the 2014 global list of the most highly cited researchers, 3 are members of the Division. This prestigious list, published by Thompson Reuters, recognises ‘the best and brightest scientific minds of our time’, by determining which researchers have produced work that is most frequently acknowledged by their peers. Tim Spector, Professor of Genetic Epidemiology, Christopher Mathew, Professor of Molecular Genetics, and Tim Hubbard, Professor of Bioinformatics, are included in the list which identifies them as being among the world’s leading and most influential experts in their respective fields. The Department of Medical & Molecular Genetics aims to identify genes, their functions, and variants, implicated in both Mendelian and complex common disorders, with a strong emphasis on translational medicine. Current studies use new-generation high-throughput DNA sequencing and genotyping technology to identify genetic variants associated with common inflammatory disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis and systemic lupus erythematosus, and to find causal mutations in a range of rare and severe genetic syndromes. There is also a strong cancer genetics group studying the molecular origins of breast cancer, leukaemia and oesophageal cancer. Further substantial research programmes exist in neurogenetics, including basic and translational aspects of Huntington's disease, while other work explores epigenetic effects such as imprinting, the control of gene expression, and epistatic interactions between genes. Several research groups are involved in development of statistical approaches to whole genome association studies and the integration of emerging biological databases with genomic studies. The Department has close links with our NHS Department of Clinical Genetics and its associated diagnostic laboratories, which provide genetic services to a large patient base in the south-east of England.

Past students have gone on to further careers in medical research, academia and industry, both in this country and abroad.