History of the Genetics Division

The Genetics Division was established in 1966 with the creation of the Human Genetics Section within the Histology Division at the Paulista School of Medicine. The biologists Heleneide de Souza Nazareth and Joyce Duffles Andrade were invited to lead this Section.

The Genetics Section was created in the same year as the implementation of the Biomedical Sciences Program at the Paulista School of Medicine, conceived by Professor José Leal Prado de Carvalho, Full Professor of the Department of Biochemistry at the institution. The program was designed to train qualified professionals for teaching and research in the basic fields of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

In this context, given the rapid advancement of Genetics at that time — marked by the emergence of Human Cytogenetics — Prof. Leal Prado, together with Professors Nylceo Marques de Castro and Antonio Cechelli de Mattos Paiva, identified the need to establish a Cytogenetics Service dedicated to both clinical care and research. Thus, the Human Genetics Section was created.

In 1972, under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Heleneide de Souza Nazareth and with the support of successive Heads of the Department of Morphology, Prof. Dr. José Cassiano de Figueiredo and Prof. Dr. José Carlos Prates, the Genetics Division was officially established to meet the growing demand for teaching in this field across undergraduate programs.

Currently, the Genetics Division includes six  faculty members, all of whom are accredited in the Graduate Program in Structural and Functional Biology.