In 2010, the Training Residents in Genomics (TRIG) Working Group was formed through the Pathology Residency Directors Section (PRODS) of the Association of Pathology Chairs (APC).

The goals of this group, made up of experts in medical education, molecular pathology, and clinical genetics, are to develop teaching tools, and promote genomic pathology education. The TRIG Working Group represents a unique collaborative effort in pathology education with members from many major pathology organizations and representatives from the National Society of Genetic Counselors, American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics.

Through grant support from the National Cancer Institute, the TRIG Working Group has held genomic pathology workshops and courses at the annual meetings of major pathology and oncology organizations. Using team-based learning (TBL), these workshops have been recognized as an “educational innovation” for the unique approach to teaching at national meetings. An Instructor Handbook and Toolkit - as well as Online Modules that simulate the TBL approach, are available to enable residency programs and other groups to locally implement similar training.

Through grant support from the National Human Genome Research Institute and working with the Intersociety Coordinating Committee for Health Professional Education in Genomics (ISCC-PEG), universal exercises based on the TRIG model have been developed. A Universal Genomics Instructor Handbook and Toolkit are available to allow educators to develop specialty-specific TRIG-based exercises. Using a “plug-and-play” format, in which specialty specific diseases and genes can be added, the modules have been adapted to several specialties including neurology, ophthalmology and cardiology.

In 2016, the Undergraduate Training in Genomics Working Group (UTRIG) was formed under the Undergraduate Medical Educators Section (UMEDS) of the APC. This group, made up of pathology and genetics medical school course directors as well as experts in undergraduate medical education, has adapted the TRIG curriculum to teach medical students. Similar to the TRIG curriculum, an Instructor Handbook and Toolkit as well as Online Modules are available to enable medical and other health professional schools to locally implement similar training.

All TRIG-related materials have been extensively vetted and evaluated with published data.

View working group members and key contributors

For more information regarding TRIG contact trig@ascp.org.

TRIG Members

Richard L. Haspel, MD, PhD (Chair)
Lisa Browning, MD
Devon Chabot-Richards, MD
Allison Cushman-Vokoun, MD, PhD
Alix D'Angelo, MCG, CGC
Marie DeFrances, MD, PhD
Siddhartha Devarakonda, MD
Helen Fernandes, PhD
Pedro Fernandez, MD, PhD
Jonathan Genzen, MD, PhD
Michael Hurwitz, MD, PhD
Neal Lindeman, MD
Jackie Payton, MD, PhD
Alexander Nobori, MD
Erik Nohr, MD
Ben Saylor, MD
Mark Sobel, MD, PhD
Keith Stringer, MD
Chad Vanderbilt, MD
Martin Young, MBBS

UTRIG Members:

Rebecca Wilcox, MD (Co-chair)
Richard L. Haspel, MD, PhD (Co-chair)
Patricia Adem, MD
Hana Anderson, PhD
James Atkinson, MD
Robin D. LeGallo, MD
Madelyn Lew, MD
Tina Lockwood, PhD
Rizwan Naeem, MBBS
Hasan Rizvi, MBBS
Julian Sanz, MD, PhD
Kate Shane-Carson, MS, LGC
Mark E. Sobel, MD, PhD
Eric Suarez, CDER, MC, USN
Laura J. Tafe, MD
Jason Wang, MD

TRIG/UTRIG Advisors

Leah Burke, MD
Grace Huang, MD
Loren Joseph, MD
Debra Leonard, MD, PhD 

ASCP Staff

Suzanne Ziemnik, MEd
Devon Cortright, MEd
Kellie Beumer
Michelle Martin
Ryan Soles
Jay Wagner

APC Staff

Mel Limson
Priscilla S. Markwood, CAE

TRIG and UTRIG Working Group Cooperating Organizations

Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists (ACLPS)
American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC)
American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG)
American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP)
American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP)
Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP)
Association of Pathology Chairs (APC)/Program Directors Section (PRODS) and Undergraduate Medical Educators Section (UMEDS)
Association of Professors of Human Medical Genetics (APHMG)
College of American Pathologists (CAP)
Health Education England
Intersociety Council for Pathology Information (ICPI)
National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC)
Royal College of Pathologists UK
Sociedad Española de Anatomía Patológica (SEAP)
United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP)
Universal Genomics Instructor Handbook and Toolkit Key Contributors

Richard L. Haspel, MD, PhD
Kiran Musunuru, MD, PhD, MPH
Tim Stout, MD, PhD
Jeffery Vance, MD, PhD
Veeral Shah, MD, PhD
Cooperating Organizations

Inter-Society Coordinating Committee for Practitioner Education in Genomics, Innovative Approaches Working Group (ISCC)
American Academy of Neurology
American Heart Association
American Academy of Ophthalmology