Jose Fernandez, Ph.D.

Department of Biostatistics Webb Building, 435 University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL 35294 Phone: (205) 934-2029 Fax: (205) 934-7050 E-mail: jose@uab.edu Full CV

Dr. José R. Fernández is an Assistant Professor in the Section of Statistical Genetics with a primary appointment in the Department of Nutrition Sciences at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Dr. Fernández obtained his Ph.D. in Biobehavioral Health from The Pennsylvania State University, training in genetics of complex traits under the advisory of Dr. Gerald McClearn, and working with the three most commonly used models for genetic research: fruit flies, mice, and humans. He continued his academic training at the New York Obesity Research Center at Columbia University as a post-doctoral fellow focusing on genetics of obesity, under the mentorship of Dr. David B. Allison, and receiving specialized training in statistical models to improve the identification of genetic and environmental influences on obesity-related characteristics. Dr. Fernández joined the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in August 2001, bringing special expertise in the application of statistical models to detect genetic influences in obesity-related traits.

Dr. Fernández ’ main research interest is the identification of genes that contribute to racial differences in obesity and diabetes. He uses the genetic admixture approach as a tool to decompose the genetic, social and cultural components underlying racial and ethnic differences. He is also interested on the application of methods for QTL mapping, the use of linear statistical models to (a) identify genes in the population (b) identify gene-gene interactions and (c) identify the interaction of genes and environment, and the use of statistical approaches to improve the identification of genes in the population.

Recent Publications

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