On Jul. 1, 1956, the University of Washington’s Division of Medical Genetics was established in the Department of Medicine as one of first units of its kind in America.

The Division of Medical Genetics was founded in 1957 by Dr. Arno Motulsky, and the Medical Genetics Clinic opened at University Hospital. Then one of the few genetic disease and counseling clinics in the country, it remains prominent today.

This established UW at the time as one of only a few medical schools providing training in medical genetics, and as one of the first clinics in the country to provide family counseling for genetic diseases and to employ women in this profession.