The University of Washington’s Division of Medical Genetics will be celebrating its 50th anniversary tomorrow and Saturday by holding a medical genetics symposium.

The event will feature more than 25 speakers from the UW and other institutions, including the founder of the program, Dr. Arno Motulsky.

“We are celebrating that the department has been successful,” Motulsky said.

The division started out as one of the first of its kind in the world when it was founded in 1957 by Motulsky.

“At that time, I felt that doctors would know more about treating people if they were trained specifically in genetics. Also, there was a lot of future in this field,” he said.

Since its founding, the department has been hailed as being one of the foremost in the medical community, and has pioneered research on how genetics affects many diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, Downs syndrome and even cancer. The program has even led to the creation of a genetics clinic, where people can get “genetic counseling,” Motulsky said, on the probability of passing a hereditary disease to their children.

“It was really a groundbreaking program,” Division head Gail Jarvik said.

It is now one of the leading centers for research in the advancement of molecular genetics and its graduates include internationally known geneticists, such as Joseph L. Goldstein, winner of the 1985 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The training program is one of the most competitive in the nation.

The symposium features speeches by many leading members in the field of genetics from as far away as Israel, with expected attendees from Europe.

“We have world famous scientists,” Jarvik said.

They include Roger Perlmutter, president of research at AMGEN, and three winners of the Gruber Prize for Genetics — Mary-Claire King, Robert Waterston and Maynard Olson.

“Marie-Clair King is really an incredible woman,” Jarvik said.

Despite being attended by some of the foremost minds in the field, the event is geared toward the layperson interested in genetics, so anyone with an interest in the subject can enjoy it.

“We do encourage people to attend and just walk in.” Jarvik said.

The symposium is to end with a panel where attendees can ask questions.

“I think [it] will be very exciting,” Jarvik said.

[Reach reporter Chaitra Sriram at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]