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Institute Goals

Epidemiology as a discipline is concerned with the distribution, causation and control of disease across time and space in human populations.

Genetic epidemiology is the study of the role of genetic variation in determining the expression of disease and health phenotypes, using approaches involving families at high risk for disease, including special populations by race and ethnicity. It also includes assessments of the interactions of genetic variation with environmental factors that often involve the use of molecular markers of biological outcomes and exposures.

As an organized research unit of UC Irvine, the Genetic Epidemiology Research Institute (GERI) was formed in 2004 to pursue the following goals:

  • Study the genetic and environmental etiology, susceptibility and prevention of acute and chronic disease in human populations.

  • Provide training, mentorship, research and resources to undergraduate, graduate and medical students, as well as to clinical fellows and junior faculty in translational research, using population sciences methods.

  • Provide training of post-doctoral researchers and graduate students in master's and doctoral degree programs in epidemiology.

  • Promote outreach efforts to clinical and basic science departments and to community healthcare providers and the general population.

  • Provide organization and resources that will bring together scientists from the multiple disciplines.

  • Focus research efforts in a manner that promotes the understanding of basic disease mechanisms and processes in human populations.

Multiple GERI research projects and initiatives provide examples of these goals.