Dear Colleagues,
The Division of Biostatistics at the Department of Preventive Medicine invites you to attend the following seminar by our speaker, Dr. Chris Gignoux of the University of Colorado.
Date: TODAY
Time: 2 P.M.
Place: 4th Floor Conference Room 400 in the Doctors’ Office Building at 66 N. Pauline Street, Memphis, TN 38105 and online through ZOOM. Please park in the multi-story parking garage adjacent to the Doctors’ Office Building, and bring your parking card with you so we can give you a validation ticket.
Presenter: Dr. Chris Gignoux, Associate Professor, Colorado Center for Personalized Medicine and Department of Biostatistics, University of Colorado
Title: The role of human genetic diversity in the architecture of traits: lessons from PAGE
Abstract: As we enter the second decade of genome-wide association studies, there remains a persistent bias towards focusing on populations of European descent. This has numerous drawbacks, both limiting new discoveries and impairing our translation of findings into precision medicine for people across the world. To counteract this, the Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) Study was developed, currently leveraging genome-wide data from 52,000 individuals representing four multi-ethnic longitudinal cohorts. This large-scale work in diverse populations presents several computational challenges. I will present on our efforts to design new arrays that capture variation in diverse populations. Furthermore, I will demonstrate the use of both statistical and population genetics methods to uncover new insights in complex traits and the role of population structure in elucidating genetic architecture. I will conclude with some of our work on Mendelian genetic disease in the context of human genetic diversity and its implications for modern health systems and biobanks.
We look forward to seeing you all among us.
Mehmet Kocak, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biostatistics
Department of Preventive Medicine, UTHSC