Anindya Dutta, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Genetics, and Andrew Carroll, Ph.D. recently visited Dr. Wayne Finley, the Founding Chair of the Laboratory of Medical Genetics. During their visit, Dr. Finley presented them with a copy of a report he wrote at the time of his retirement, entitled “A History of the Laboratory of Medical Genetics.” 

The report, written in conjunction with his wife Dr. Sara Finley (who passed away in 2013), details how the Laboratory was founded, and what led to the eventual establishment of the current Department of Genetics. Dr. Sara Finley was also the first female president of the University of Alabama Medical Alumni Association and the Jefferson County Medical Society.L to R, Drs. Andrew Carroll, Wayne Finley and Anindya Dutta

Many memories were shared about how the Finleys trained at UAB and were encouraged by Dean Joseph Volker to visit the University of Uppsala in Sweden to learn the new discipline of Cytogenetics. Upon their return, the new technology was brought back to Birmingham, and the Laboratory that is now the Department of Genetics was started in a single room.

After the Finleys' retirement in 1996, they were succeeded by Dr. Carroll as the head of the Laboratory, until it became a Department when Dr. Bruce Korf was recruited as Chair. 

We cannot thank the Finleys enough for their immeasurable contributions to UAB, and are eternally grateful for their founding of what is now the Department of Genetics. The Finley name is intricately connected with UAB, including: The Finley Conference Center, The Wayne and Sara Finley Endowed Chair in Medical Genetics (which honors the creation of the first medical genetics program in the southeastern United States), The Reynolds-Finley Historical Library, and The Finley travelling fellowship for Genetics Fellows, among others.