340.731.81 PRINCIPLES OF GENETIC EPIDEMIOLOGY

First in a four-term series. Presents fundamental concepts and methods in genetic epidemiology. Reviews basic terminology of genetics, introduces basic principles of population genetics, and provides an overview of various genetic epidemiology study designs, covering basic analysis, inferences, plus their strengths and limitations. Presents methods for assessing familial aggregation/correlation, and covers statistical techniques for modeling inheritance of complex phenotypes on family data. Presents both linkage and association analyses, with emphasis on how these are used in genetic epidemiology. Explains different study designs commonly used in genetic epidemiology to identify the genetic basis of common, complex diseases.

Presents fundamental concepts and methods in genetic epidemiology. It will review basic terminology in genetics and introduce various genetic epidemiology study designs, covering basic analysis, inferences, plus their strengths and limitations. At the end of the course, students should: understand and give examples of different types of study designs used in the field of genetic epidemiology; be familiar with basic terminology in the field of human genetics; understand the basic principles behind major molecular biology techniques, such as PCR, and their applications in genetic epidemiology studies; understand various exposures, or markers, used in genetic epidemiology studies; understand principles of Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium and be able to estimate allele and genotype frequencies; understand and calculate simple statistics, such as odds ratios and LOD scores; understand the difference between linkage and association studies; understand the difference between family-based and population-based studies; understand the difference between direct and indirect association studies; interpret results of a linkage study; interpret results of an association study; select an appropriate study design for addressing a particular question; understand the inferences drawn from the different genetic epidemiology studies.