Genes, Chromosomes, and Disease: From Simple Traits, to Complex Traits, to Personalized Medicine

This very readable overview of the rise and transformations of medical genetics and of the eugenic impulses that have been inspired by the emerging understanding of the genetic basis of many diseases and disabilities is based on a popular nonmajors course, "Social Implications of Genetics," that Gillham gave for many years at Duke University. The book is suitable for use as a text in similar overview courses about genes and social issues or genes and disease. It gives a good overview of the developments and status of this field for a wide range of biomedical researchers, physicians, and students, especially those interested in the prospects for the new, genetics-based personalized medicine.

Nicholas Wright Gillham is James B. Duke Professor of Biology Emeritus. His research interests involved the genetics and molecular biology of cellular organelles called chloroplasts and mitochondria. For more than a decade he taught a course entitled “The Social Implications of Genetics.” This course fostered his interest in eugenics, human genetics, and their history. He has authored two books on chloroplasts and mitochondria plus a biography of the Victorian scientist Francis Galton entitled, A Life of Sir Francis Galton: From African Exploration to the Birth of Eugenics(Oxford University Press, 2001).