McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development

The McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development serves as the Center for Human Genetics at UT Southwestern. McDermott Center faculty study how mutations arise, and the impact of genetic variation on human disease. We also provide expertise and resources for clinicians and basic scientists to identify genes and sequence variations that contribute to human diseases and traits. Disease-causing mutations identified by faculty at UT Southwestern are shown on this human chromosome map.

Mission

The central mission of the Center is to promote research that elucidates the molecular basis of human disease. We also provide educational support for the study and practice of human genetics in the graduate school, medical school, and in our hospital and clinics.

Population Genetics

The McDermott Center hosts UT Southwestern’s Sequencing Populations to Accelerate Research and Care (SPARC) program. SPARC is a campus-wide initiative to study genomic variation in patients who receive their medical care at UT Southwestern and affiliated hospitals.

Commitment

Eugene McDermott was an engineer, inventor, and visionary who co-founded Texas Instruments. He was a philanthropist who was particularly interested in education. In 1950 he established the Biological Humanics Foundation, which in 1973 became the Eugene McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development at UT Southwestern. His generosity resulted in the creation of an endowment that supports the research and educational missions of the Center.