Back to Basics: Using GWAS to Drive Discovery for Complex Diseases

Date: December 11, 2013

Presenter: Dr. Bryce Christensen, Statistical Geneticist

Duration: 68 Minutes

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Abstract

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been providing valuable insight to the genetics of common and complex diseases for nearly 10 years. Despite some assertions to the contrary, GWAS is not dead. GWAS is alive and well, and remains a viable technology for genetic discovery.

This webcast will cover:

• GWAS data formats, usability, and data management techniques.
• Imputation: Myths, facts, and when to use it.
• Quality assurance: What questions should you be asking about your data?
• Genotype association testing and statistics: Contingency tables, linear and logistic regression, Mixed Linear Models, and more.
• Visualizations including Manhattan Plots, linkage disequilibrium plots, and genomic annotation sources.
• Exploring public databases to investigate your results.
• Tips for using exome chips and other targeted genotyping platforms.

Along the way, Dr. Christensen will highlight best practice approaches and common pitfalls to avoid. Golden Helix SNP & Variation Suite (SVS) software will be used to demonstrate many of these concepts.

Dr. Bryce Christensen fills two roles at Golden Helix as he is both the Director of Services as well as a Statistical Geneticist. Bryce joined GHI in 2009 from the University of Utah where he earned his PhD in Genetic Epidemiology and Biomedical Informatics. Before undertaking his graduate studies, Bryce worked for 2 years as a data analyst at Mayo Clinic in the Division of Biostatistics.