Title
Family-Based Designs in the Age of Whole Genome Association Scans
Speaker
Nan Laird, Harvard University
Abstract
Both population-based and family-based designs are commonly used in genetic association studies to locate genes that underlie complex diseases. The simplest version of the family based design—the transmission/disequilibrium test—is well known, but the numerous extensions that broaden its scope and power are less widely appreciated. Family-based designs have unique advantages over population based designs, as they are robust against population admixture and stratification, allow both linkage and association to be tested, and offer a solution to the problem of model building. Furthermore, the fact that family based designs contain both within and between family information has substantial benefits in terms of multiple hypothesis testing, especially in the context of whole genome association studies. An application to a 100K genome scan in the Framingham Hearth Study is presented.
Meet the speaker in Room 212 Cockins Hall at 4:30 p.m. Refreshments will be served.