Boston University School of Public Health

Join BU School of Public Health biostatistics professors Josée Dupuis and Paola Sebastiani as they present on current research projects at the Faculty Research Symposium on Wednesday, October 28 at noon. Members of the BUSPH community are invited to attend and learn about the diverse work their colleagues are doing across the areas of public health.

Dupuis will discuss the study "Challenges in Genome-wide Association Analysis of Quantitative Traits":

In recent years, there has been a flurry of genome-wide association studies, with various degrees of success in identifying genetic variants influencing complex diseases and quantitative traits. Most identified genetic loci have small effects on the phenotype of interest, requiring ever-increasing sample sizes to detect the key genetic determinants of complex traits. Dupuis will discuss the challenges of conducting genome-wide association analyses for quantitative traits, with emphasis on family samples such as the Framingham Heart Study. She will also present results from the Meta-Analyses of Glucose and Insulin-related traits Consortium (MAGIC), which recently identified new loci influencing fasting glucose by studying 54 cohorts consisting of 122,742 participants.  

Sebastiani will present on the study "Genome-Wide Association Studies and Public Health":

The technology of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays has moved the field of genetics from candidate gene studies to genome-wide association studies and, in the last four years, hundreds of manuscripts have reported the discovery of new genes associated with a variety of heritable traits. However, the bulk of data produced by these studies remains largely unexplored because of the challenge of mining and modeling massive data sets. The integration of genetic data with other gene products can speed up the discovery of disease mechanism and identify targets for treatments. Most relevant to public health is the use of genetic data for risk prediction modeling. Sebastiani will discuss some applications using data from genome-wide association studies of sickle cell anemia phenotypes and exceptional longevity.

BUSPH Faculty Research Symposium
Presenters: Josée Dupuis and Paola Sebastiani
Date: October 28, 2009
Time: Noon – 1:00 p.m.
Location: BUSM Instructional Building, room L-112