Course overview
The consumer genetic testing landscape has expanded beyond the curiosities of our ancestry, and now encompasses multiple industries, including healthcare, life insurance, food production, diet and fitness.
Discover how to interpret consumer genetic testing, understand the opportunities it can offer and also its limitations. You will attempt to answer the question, 'How does genetics help us to better understand ourselves?' with a focus on application to your own professional context.
This course will explore key genetic principles and how they play into the common technologies that we see in genetic measurements today. You will gain the confidence to apply what you've learned, reflecting on how genetics factors into your industry, the key issues that may arise, and the rationale behind what tests may be useful to use for your professional context, their limitations and why.
What will I learn?
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
- summarise the basics of genetics and the ‘central dogma’ (how genetic information is translated into biology)
- describe the technologies used in sequencing and measurement of DNA and RNA
- identify different types of genetic variation
- predict the impact of different types of genetic variation
- summarise common ethical issues in consumer genetic testing
- critically assess the contemporary consumer genetic testing landscape.
Who is this course for?
This course will be of interest to professionals within the following industries:
- actuary (investment and insurance)
- food production
- diet and fitness
- healthcare (both frontline and administrative)
- policy making.
What will I get on completion?
Evidence your learning with a Certificate of Achievement from the University of Cambridge on successful completion.
