Jacob Vella

I spent a full year, from July 2025 to June 2026, as a Clinical and Research Fellow at the Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine and the Manchester Rare Conditions Centre, training under Professor Siddharth Banka and Professor William Newman.

During my time in Manchester, I held clinics in developmental disorders, adult genetics and neurogenetics, and sat in on metabolic medicine, alongside the weekly fetomaternal multidisciplinary team meeting, departmental audits and specialist laboratory MDTs. This gave me exposure to a genuinely broad case-mix, and a real understanding of how a large, integrated genetics service runs day to day.

Alongside clinical work, I was welcomed into the wider academic life of the Centre. I attended the weekly genomic seminar series, helped organise the 20th Manchester Dysmorphology and Developmental Disorders Conference, and contributed to populating the Centre’s research publications on the rare disease portal. I joined the Genomics Training Academy’s weekly lectures and a dedicated study group for the European Certificate in Medical Genetics and Genomics, which helped me pass both parts of that exam during my time in Manchester. I also had the opportunity to teach, delivering part of a clinical genomics workshop for medical students at Lancaster University.

During my stay in the UK I attended a number of courses including the UCL Renal Genetics Course and the Skeletal Dysplasia Group Instructional Course in Sheffield.

This year gave me a rounded view of clinical genetics in practice, from outpatient care and multidisciplinary working to research, teaching and academic organisation, and it has shaped the way I intend to help build Malta’s own genetics service in the years ahead.