2nd Short Course on Statistical Genetics and Genomics

Major efforts are under way to uncover the specific genetic components of many complex human disorders and quantitative traits. These efforts are generating an unprecedented wealth of data that requires sophisticated statistical analysis in order to maximize the information gleaned from each study. Likewise, many advances have been made in statistical methods for the study of complex genetic traits, and new statistical methods continue to be promulgated. To expedite and significantly advance the search for specific genes that predispose to these complex traits, we propose a series of annual hands-on short courses on statistical genetics and statistical genomics which will enable a far greater number of researchers, including clinical researchers, to participate in, contribute to, and lead such research. These short courses will help equip students, post-doctoral fellows, junior investigators and senior investigators new to the field with the statistical genetic approaches necessary to expedite genomic discovery. The courses will be taught by leading experts in statistical genetics/genomics. Each 5-day course will provide substantial "hands-on" computer training that will effectively increase the number and the expertise of investigators who are pursuing genetic and genomic research. We expect approximately 50 students to attend each course, allowing for intensive interaction between students and faculty. Lectures will be supplemented with extensive discussion sessions, handouts, presentation of worked examples, and interactive demonstrations of statistical genetic data analyses. Finally, we will also initiate a new bursary service, providing funding for 10 course participants to travel to visit a course faculty member of their choice to help initiate or finish a particular project. This will provide an unprecedented collaborative opportunity for course participants and faculty.

Schedule of Events: Agenda

Time	Speaker	Topic	Resource(s)
08:00 - 08:30	Derry Crawford	Registration
08:30 - 08:45	Hemant Tiwari PhD	Introductory Remarks
08:45 - 09:45	Gregory Pence PhD	Ethical Issues in Medical Research in Human Genetics
09:45 - 10:00		BREAK
10:00 - 11:00	Gregory Pence PhD	Part II - Ethical Issues in Research in Genetics
11:00 - 11:15		BREAK
11:15 - 12:15	Nancy Cox PhD	Introduction to Genetics & Genomics
12:15 - 01:30		LUNCH
01:30 - 03:00	Warren Ewens PhD	Introduction to Biostatistics
03:00 - 03:15		BREAK
03:15 - 04:15	Jelai Wang	Introduction to ssglabvm, a virtual software lab
04:15 - 06:15	Xiangqin Cui PhD	Introduction to R & Bio-conductor

Time	Speaker	Topic	Resource(s)
08:00 - 09:15	Carl Langefeld PhD	Design, Analysis, and interpretation of GWAS
09:15 - 09:30		BREAK
09:30 - 10:45	Suzanne Leal PhD	Rare Variants & Exome Sequencing
10:45 - 11:00		BREAK
11:00 - 12:15	Mahlet Tadesse PhD	Structural Variation & Human Diseases (CNV Analysis)
12:15 - 01:30		LUNCH
01:30 - 02:00	Faculty	Open Discussion
02:00 - 02:15		BREAK
02:15 - 06:00	Wang, Tadesse and Zhi	PLINK, PENNCNV, Exome Sequence data analysis

Time	Speaker	Topic	Resource(s)
08:00 - 09:15	Guilherme Rosa PhD	Microarrays and RNAseq: technologies and data processing
09:15 - 09:30		BREAK
09:30 - 10:45	Guilherme Rosa PhD	Design and analysis of gene expression experiments
10:45 - 11:00		BREAK
11:00 - 12:15	Shili Lin PhD	Epigenomics methods I
12:15 - 01:30		LUNCH
01:30 - 02:00	Faculty	Open Discussion
02:00 - 02:15		BREAK
02:15 - 06:00	Drs Cui and Lin	Affy, RMANOVA, Epigenomic Analysis, Chip Seq Software (DIME)
07:00 - 09:00	Participants & Faculty	Social and Dinner

Time	Speaker	Topic	Resource(s)
08:00 - 09:15	Shili Lin PhD	Epigenomics methods II
09:15 - 09:30		BREAK
09:30 - 10:45	Alison Motsinger-Reif PhD	Pharmacogenetics/ Pharmacogenomics
10:45 - 11:00		BREAK
11:00 - 12:15	Gustavo del los Campos PhD	Prediction of complex traits using whole genome regressions
12:15 - 01:30		LUNCH
01:30 - 02:45	Faculty	Open Discussion
02:45 - 03:00		BREAK
03:00 - 06:00	Amit Patki	GWAS Imputation

Time	Speaker	Topic	Resource(s)
08:00 - 09:15	Laura Kelly Vaughan PhD	Pathway & Gene Network approaches for genome-wide association studies
09:15 - 09:30		BREAK
09:30 - 10:45	Atul Butte MD, PhD	Discovering new drugs & diagnostics from 300 billion points of data
10:45 - 12:00	All Faculty	Open Discussion
12:00 - 01:30		LUNCH
01:30 - 02:30	Laura Kelly Vaughan PhD	Pathways/Gene Network Analysis software
02:30		Adjourn

Bursary Services. We will offer a novel service to participants to assist them either in their ongoing research projects or in a newly initiated project which could lead to publication in refereed journal or submission of an investigator initiated grant proposal. In addition to attending the regularly scheduled short course itself, one month after the short course participants will be encouraged to submit one page proposals on their projects indicating in each case the specific aim of the project and the name of the rotating faculty with whom they wish to work. Any faculty listed in the rotating faculty list is eligible to provide such service. Advisory board members will serve as reviewers and will assign scores between 1 and 5 to each proposal and convey them to Drs. Tiwari and Allison. We will then select the 10 participants with highest average scores. (In selecting the proposals for Bursary Awards, we also consider diversity in addition, but secondarily, to the scientific quality of the proposal.) We will serve as facilitators, contacting particular faculty to ask whether they are willing to help the participant in initiating and finishing the project. If they agree, we will encourage participants to contact the faculty to arrange to work on the project. When the project is nearly complete, the participant will visit the faculty for two days to get final assistance.

Within one month of the Bursary Service, both participant and faculty will be responsible to provide feedback on their experience and to provide information on the manuscript or grant proposal they submitted together. They may be asked to provide a copy of their manuscript and/or confirmation of the submitted grant proposal (the documents will not be distributed to any one and kept confidential). We will also keep track of publication status as well as approval of the grant proposal by conducting online searches of Pub Med. Medline, and NIH RePORTER to find out whether any of these trainees have publications or funded grants, especially in fields related to genetics. We strongly believe that this will bring high level of collaboration between faculty and participants.

UAB Faculty:

Full List of Rotating Faculty can be found by Click here.

Advisory Board:

• Robert C Elston, PhD - Statistical Genetics/Genomics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
• Suzanne M Leal, PhD - Linkage/ Association, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor University, Houston
• John K Hewitt, PhD - Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado

Contact Information: