Biostatistics and Human Genetics

Catalog description

"Deciphering the information encoded in the human genome is one of the greatest (and most exciting) challenges of the 21st century. This course will provide an introduction to studying and interpreting the human genome with a focus on the statistical methods required for its study. Fundamental concepts in human genetics will be introduced including inheritance of mendelian disease, population genetics, multifactorial disease and functional genomics. Accompanying each topic will be an introduction to the statistical concepts and tools that are required to study inheritance, genes and gene function. These include probability, hypothesis testing, ANOVA, regression, correlation and likelihood. Hands on experience will be provided through weekly assignments using the statistical programming language, R. Prior experience with statistics and genetics is not required.