Training competencies and recommendations for the next generation of public health genetics: Reflections from current...

Public health genetics training programs must evolve to meet the changing public health landscape and ever-growing data availability. Yet, the field's interdisciplinary nature poses challenges to training program development. Here, we conducted focus groups (n = 7) with public-health-genetics-related professionals (n = 55) to learn about the skills and knowledge needed for a career in public health genetics. Additional discussion topics included perspectives on curriculum structure, analytic skills, and unneeded content. Focus group transcripts underwent thematic analysis, from which competencies and pedagogical recommendations were derived. Informants across academia, government, and industry represented specialties in bioethics, policy, genetic epidemiology, medical genetics, statistical genetics, and law. Discussions led to 17 competencies that group into four learning goals: (1) foundational knowledge in genetics and public health (e.g., principles of population genetics and history of unethical genomic practices), (2) analytical proficiency (e.g., managing qualitative and quantitative datasets), (3) application of interdisciplinary methods to research design and practice (e.g., developing research questions at the intersection of genomics and health services), and (4) cross-disciplinary collaboration (e.g., cultural and disciplinary humility in communication). Informants recommended pedagogical priorities including strong mentorship, broad core requirements plus specialization tracks, and hands-on, interdisciplinary projects. Conceptual knowledge and critical thinking were emphasized over technical proficiency in specific methods. We translated the recommendations from current experts into guidance for training programs that will best meet the evolving needs of the public health genetics field. Training should emphasize broad foundational knowledge and team science skills to facilitate cross-disciplinary communication and meet emerging challenges.