Module dates/times: Monday, July 8; 8:30 a.m. -5 p.m.; Tuesday, July 9, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., and Wednesday, July 10, 8:30 a.m.-Noon
This module covers the theory and practice of modern genetics. It is designed to provide biologists with the foundations upon which statistical genetics is built, and/or an introduction to the concepts of classical and contemporary genetics for statisticians and informaticians.
The module starts with the key concepts of quantitative and Mendelian genetics and then illustrates how these have been reconciled with molecular biology. Three half-days are then spent on the basics of genome-wide association mapping as well as exome and whole genome sequencing; on evolutionary and population genetics particularly as they pertain to human biology; and on gene expression profiling and integrative genomics leading to systems biology, also touching on personalized medicine. Suggested pairing: modules 6 and 10.
Access 2018 course materials through the Summer Institutes archives.
Greg Gibson is Professor and Director of the Center for Integrative Genomics at Georgia Tech. He conducts research on genomic approaches to human genetics; variability of gene expression; systems biology of disease; theory of canalization and biological robustness. He recently published “Constraints on eQTL fine mapping in the presence of multisite local regulation of gene expression.” G3-Genes,Genomes, Genetics7:2532-2544, 2017.
Christine Queitsch is Associate Professor of Genome Sciences at the University of Washington. Her research focuses on two related fields: the genetic architecture of complex traits and the role of gene regulation and protein folding in generating heritable phenotypic variation. She advances complex trait genetics by ascertaining uncharacterized sequence variation and by resolving the relative importance of additive variation and epistasis in complex traits. Her most recent publication is “Variability in a short tandem repeat mediates complex epistatic interactions in Arabidopsis thaliana.” Genetics 205:455, 2017.