QBI Neuroscience Seminar : Finding genetic and modifiable risk factors for common diseases

Event Details

Date:

Wednesday, 05 September 2018 - Wednesday, 05 September 2018

Time:

11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Room:

Auditorium, room 701, QBi building 79

UQ Location:

Queensland Brain Institute (St Lucia)

URL:

http://qbi.uq.edu.au/neuroscience-seminars

Event category(s):

Full Description:: Speaker : Professor Jian Yang
Queensland Brain Institute and Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland

Title
Finding genetic and modifiable risk factors for common diseases

Abstract:
Most human traits and common diseases are complex because they are influenced by many genetic and environmental factors. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified a large number of genetic variants associated with complex traits. However, genes or functional DNA elements through which the genetic variants exert their effects on the traits are largely unknown. In this talk, I will present a statistical method (called SMR) that integrates data from GWAS and large-scale genetic studies of molecular phenotypes (e.g. gene expression and DNA methylation) to predict putative causal genes and likely mechanisms underpinning complex trait variation. I will then demonstrate the use of data from genetic studies of gene expression in blood with very large sample sizes to identify putative functional genes for brain-related traits and disorders. I will further show how the SMR method can be generalized to detect putative causal associations between modifiable risk factors and common diseases.