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Human and Statistical Genetics Program |
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Previously named Quantitative Human and Statistical Genetics
Graduate Student Coordinator: Kristina Hedtkamp
Human and Statistical Genetics Faculty Directors: D.C. Rao, Anne M. Bowcock
Human and Statistical Genetics Program Website
Human and Statistical Genetics Program Guidelines
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The Human and Statistical Genetics Ph.D. Program at Washington University in St. Louis offers an interdisciplinary approach to preparing future scientists with analytical/statistical, computational, and human genetic methods for the study of human disease. Biology students performing human genetics research will acquire the necessary quantitative skills to analyze their datasets. Biostatisticians will acquire the biological skills and knowledge necessary to become intellectual collaborators in all phases of human genetics research, from initial experimental design through data analysis and interpretation.
This program allows students to specialize in: “Human Genetics” or “Statistical Genetics”. Students focusing on Human Genetics will have majored in the biological sciences and have at least a certain minimum background in analytical/ statistical/ computational area. Students focusing on Statistical Genetics will have majors in statistical/ mathematical/ analytical sciences with at least a certain minimum background in biology. Training will address human/mammalian genetics, statistical genetics, and bioinformatics. A typical student in this program will pursue a dissertation devoted either to the development of novel analytical method(s) needed to solve a certain biological problem (Statistical Genetics), or human genetic research employing state-of the art molecular tools (Human genetics).
Program of Study
The major goal of the program is to provide students with interdisciplinary training in “wet lab” molecular biology and human genetics as well as in the analytical and computational techniques of genetic epidemiology and statistical genetics. Graduates of the program will understand the critical issues in both fields and will be able to employ both fields in addressing and answering problems in biomedical research. To achieve true integration, each student will do three research rotations, with at least one in each of the two areas. All students will be exposed to teaching skills by serving as TAs for one semester and will also take a Research Ethics course.
The curriculum is designed to address the needs of students from both backgrounds, primarily biological versus primarily analytical/ statistical. Students lacking adequate cross training will take remedial courses. To foster close peer interactions among students from both streams, all students will take three required courses:
Fundamentals of Mammalian Genetics (L41 Bio 5285)
Human Linkage and Association (M21 GEMS 5483)
Computational Statistical Genetics (M21 GEMS 621)
[OR Biostatistics for Research Workers (M21 GEMS 505)]
Each student will also take a minimum of 9 credits (maximum of 12 credits) of advanced electives. Students will opt for one of the two tracks, in consultation with the Faculty Directors, depending on their background and the choice of electives. The current list of electives includes the following:
Advanced Genetics (L41 Biol 5491)
An introduction to Genomic Analysis (L41 Biol 5498)
Bioinformatics (M21 GEMS 550)
Computational Mol Biology (L41 Biol 5495)
Current Research in Chromatin, Epigenetics, and Nuclear Organization (L41 Biol 5284)
Data Mining and Applications to Computational Biology (L41 Biol 5506)
Epidemiology, Clinical Trials, Study Design and Management (M21 GEMS 616)
Fundamentals of Molecular Cell Biology (L41 Biol 5068)
Genomics (L41 Biol 5488)
Nucleic Acids and Protein Synthesis (L41 Biol 548)
Population Genetics (L41 Biol 4181)
Probability (L24 MATH 493)
Statistics (L24 MATH 494)
Stochastic Processes (L24 MATH 495)
Theory of Statistics (L24 MATH 5061)
Theory of Statistics II (L24 MATH 5062)
Human and Statistical Genetics Program Faculty |
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| Laura J. Bierut, M.D. - Family and genetic studies of psychiatric illnesses and substance dependence (alcoholism, smoking, and cocaine dependence). |
| Ingrid B. Borecki, Ph.D. - Identification of the genetic and environmental factors influencing diseases and/or their risk factors, especially obesity, cardiovascular disease, and cervical cancer. |
| Anne M. Bowcock, Ph.D. - Genetics and Genomics approaches to human disease |
| James M. Cheverud, Ph.D. - Evolutionary quantitative genetics of growth and morphology, quantitative trait locus mapping in model systems primate systematics. |
| C. Robert Cloninger, M.D. - Multidisciplinary research on the genetic epidemiology of psychiatric disorders. |
| F. Sessions Cole, M.D. - Genetic lung disease, Surfactant protein B, and rare diseases in infants. |
| Gerald W. Dorn, II, M.D. - The multiple biochemical signaling pathways for growth and death of heart cells |
| Susan K. Dutcher, Ph.D. - Cilia, cytokinesis, tubulin superfamily, microtubules, cell division, obesity, ciliary signaling. |
| Igor R. Efimov, Ph.D. - Cardiac arrhythmia mechanisms, imaging, implantable devices, tissue engineering |
| Justin C. Fay, Ph.D. - Population and evolutionary genetics, computational and experimental genomics. |
| Alison Goate, Ph.D. - Genome-wide association studies to uncover genetic susceptibility to neuropsychiatric disease. |
| Paul J. Goodfellow, Ph.D. - Tumor initiation, oncogenes, DNA mismatch repair, human genetics, cancer. |
| C. Charles Gu, Ph.D. - Statistical genetics and bioinformatics, high-dimensional data analysis and complex systems modeling, developing novel methodologies for detecting complex disease genes and characterizing their function. |
| Christina A. Gurnett, M.D., Ph.D. - The genetic basis of musculoskeletal diseases affecting children, including clubfoot and adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. |
| Andrew C. Heath, D.Phil. - Genetic studies of alcoholism, smoking and drug dependence, depression, suicidality and anxiety disorders, personality disorders, and methodological research in genetic epidemiology. |
| Patrick Y. Jay, M.D., Ph.D. - Genetics and genomics of cardiac development and heart failure. |
| Adam Kibel, M.D. - Genetics of prostate cancer development and progression |
| Michael Lovett, Ph.D. - Human genetic diseases, genome technologies, systems biology, functional genomics of hearing loss and craniofacial development. |
| Jeffrey D. Milbrandt, M.D., Ph.D. - Axonal degeneration, regulation of myelination, neuronal energetics and mitochondrial function in neuropathy and neurodegenerative disease |
| Rakesh Nagarajan, M.D., Ph.D. - Bioinformatics analysis of functional genomic, gene annotation, and clinicopathology datasets |
| M. Alan Permutt, M.D. - Pancreatic islet cell genes and diabetes genetics research. |
| Michael A. Province, Ph.D. - Mathematical development of new statistical genetics methodology for complex traits. |
| D.C. Rao, Ph.D. - Statistical genetics, and genetic epidemiological investigations of cardiovascular disease and its co-morbidities, including interactions. |
| John P. Rice, Ph.D. - Statistical genetics; complex disease genetics; methods in statistical genetics. |
| Nancy L. Saccone, Ph.D. - Statistical genetics, complex human diseases, linkage analysis, association studies, analysis methods. |
| Gary D. Stormo, Ph.D. - Computational biology, bioinformatics, protein-DNA interactions, RNA structure prediction, gene regulation. |
| Brian K. Suarez, Ph.D. - Genetic epidemiology of psychiatric disorders, linkage studies of Mendelian diseases with emphasis on theoretical issues involved in mapping recessives in endogamous populations. |
| Alan R. Templeton, Ph.D. - Application of molecular genetic techniques and statistical evolutionary genetics to the study of genotype/phenotype associations, the evolution of the human genome, and the conservation of endangered species. |
| Zsolt Urban, Ph.D. - Human genetic diseases of the elastic fiber system. |
| Herbert W. "Skip" Virgin, M.D., Ph.D. - We study viral immunology and search for new pathogens. |
| Mark A. Watson, M.D., Ph.D. - Use of microarray technology and other 'whole-genome' approaches to molecularly classify human malignancies and to identify genetic pathways associated with tumor progression. |
| George M. Weinstock, Ph.D. - Genomic and computational approaches to human and microbial biology |
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