This module will provide students with the basic tools to carry out genetic association analysis within the context of genome wide association studies (GWAS) and next-generation sequencing studies with considerable emphasis on hands-on learning.

Topics covered include: case-control (disease) association testing; quantitative trait analysis; quality control processes in GWAS; multi-locus testing using gene and pathway information; population structure and ancestry inference; association testing in the presence of population structure and/or relatedness; gene-environment and gene-gene interactions; basic rare variant association analysis in sequencing studies; advanced rare variant methods; sequence kernel association tests (SKAT); meta analysis; design considerations; and other emerging topics.

An important component of this module is in-class software exercises which will provide students with hands-on experience analyzing real data using state-of-the-art analysis tools for GWAS and next generation sequencing data.

Assumes basic familiarity with R. Other public domain software that will be used includes PLINK.