Welcome to the Genomics Forum’s new website and blog!

The Genomics Forum began three years ago as a small group of people interested in the interaction between genomics and public health. When we had meetings I could email people individually. We set up a website where we could post meeting agendas and minutes for the single organizing committee. And then the Forum grew.

Today, we have four functional committees, a Steering Committee, and three working groups. Instead of ~20 members, we have ~400 active members. And today, I’m happy to say we have a website that can better address our larger scope.

• To assist coordinating and sharing information about the committees, we have an up-to-date calendar and web pages for each of our groups.

• For facilitating networking beyond the opportunities we get at the Annual APHA meeting, we’ve enhanced the member directory, made it easier to post documents, and identify your colleagues and friends.

• The site also has all the newest information about our great program being planned for the APHA Annual Meeting (November 7-11, 2009 in Philadelphia). (Have you registered yet?)

Our Membership and Communications Committee and staff at the University of Michigan’s Life Sciences and Society Program and Center for Public Health and Community Genomics have been working hard to implement these new features and to bring us our new look. MANY THANKS FOR THIS GREAT WORK.

And we hope you’ll keep coming back to the website.

A couple times a week, our members will share information about current research and issues in practice, react to emerging news stories, and provide updates on our common projects and upcoming and recent events. We have a wealth of experience and expertise our membership brings to the blog in areas such as:

• Genetic epidemiology
• Genetic services
• Genomics and public health services
• Healthcare
• Ethical, Legal, and Social implications
• Environmental health
• Education
• Community engagement
• Epigenetics
• Social justice
• Biobanking

... and much more...

My thanks to our committee leaders who have already agreed to help keep our blog dynamic by posting on a regular basis. It is my hope that other members will volunteer to post (or cross-post) to the Genomics Forum -- Having just about finished my almost-first blog post ever, I can attest to the fact that it's really pretty easy.

The Forum’s blog and website should continue to be a supportive feature of our work over the next few years. Please let us know how we’re doing in this regard, and suggest ways we can improve the site’s accessibility and usability.

Are there topics you'd like to see featured here in our blog? Are there people you'd like to invite to post?