GENETICS OF COMPLEX HUMAN DISEASES
July 6 - 12, 2010
Application Deadline: March 15, 2010

Instructors:
Ammar Al-Chalabi, Kings College London, UK
Laura Almasy, Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research

Complex diseases are conditions that are influenced by the actions of multiple genes, their interactions with each other and with the environment. This lecture course will consider the difficulties in studying the genetic basis of complex disorders such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia and epilepsy. We will discuss genetic-epidemiologic study designs, including family, twin, case/control and adoption studies, as well as methods for quantifying the strength of the genetic influences on a disease. A major focus will be the identification of specific gene effects using both linkage and association analysis and their variants. We will discuss the efficiency and robustness of different designs for such analysis and how evidence from epidemiologic studies informs both the design and interpretation of molecular genetic studies. Study design and methods for analysis of quantitative risk factors related to complex diseases will be covered as well as hapiotype mapping, SNP tagging, meta-analysis and gene-environment interaction. An overview of high throughput laboratory methods will be given to provide participants with insight into the applications of these techniques. Illustrations will be provided through discussion of results from ongoing studies of a variety complex diseases and related risk factors.

Confirmed Speakers Include:
Ingrid Borecki, Washington University
Paul De Bakker, Harvard University
Janet Sinsheimer, University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine
Ruth Loos, MRC, Epidemiology Unit, UK
Ben Neel, Ontario Cancer Institute, Canada
Pak Sham, Kings College, London

The course will be held at the Laboratory’s Banbury Conference Center located on the north shore of Long Island. All participants stay within walking distance of the Center, close to tennis court, pool and private beach.