Nancy L. Saccone, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Genetics Human and Statistical Genetics Program Molecular Genetics and Genomics Program Computational Biology Program
Office Phone: 314-747-3263 Lab Phone: Other Phone: FAX: 314-747-2489 Box: 8232 Lab Address: 308A Biotechnology Building Email: nlims@vodka.wustl.edu Keywords: genetics; substance abuse; linkage analysis; human disease gene mapping Short Research Description: Statistical genetics, complex human diseases, linkage analysis, association studies, analysis methods.
Research Abstract: My research focuses on using mathematical and statistical methods to study the genetics of complex traits in humans. Methods under development include applications of logistic regression for linkage analysis. We are also using artificial neural networks to model genotype-phenotype relationships as a means to identify disease genes. Defining alternative phenotypes can help detect genes involved in complex clinical diseases. This approach has proved useful in studying substance dependence; a genome screen of a maximum alcohol consumption trait in data from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) found linkage evidence in the region of the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) gene cluster. We have also looked at similar phenotypes for nicotine dependence. Another area of interest is the study of linkage disequilibrium (LD) patterns in the human genome. We are involved in empirical studies of LD and the development of methods for making use of LD structure in the design of disease association studies (e.g. tag SNP selection algorithms).
Selected Publications: Saccone SF, Rice JP, Saccone NL. Power-based, phase-informed selection of single nucleotide polymorphisms for disease association screens. Genet Epidemiol 2006 30:459-470. Saccone NL, Rochberg N, Neuman RJ, Rice JP. Covariates in linkage analysis using sibling and cousin pairs. Genet Epidemiol 2001 21 Suppl 1:S540-S545. Saccone NL, Kwon JM, Corbett J, et al. A genome screen of maximum number of drinks as an alcoholism phenotype. Am J Med Genet 2000 96:632-637. Taillon-Miller P, Bauer-Sardina I, Saccone NL, et al. Juxtaposed regions of extensive and minimal linkage disequilibrium in human Xq25 and Xq28. Nat Genet 2000 25:324-328. Saccone NL, Downey TJ Jr, Meyer DJ, Neuman RJ, Rice JP. Mapping genotype to phenotype for linkage analysis. Genet Epidemiol 1999 17 Suppl 1:S703-S708.

Last Updated: 06/26/2007