Quantitative Analysis Methods for Complex Trait Genetics

描述：(申请人提供)： 吸烟是过早死亡的一个主要风险因素，并会造成 沉重的公共卫生负担。虽然研究表明吸烟和 尼古丁依赖是受显著遗传影响的复杂特征 成分，还需要进一步的研究来确定影响 敏感性和抗药性。这项建议的研究目标是开发 并对复杂性状遗传分析的新方法进行了评价 候选人南希·萨科内博士的职业发展背景。萨科内博士 将使用人工神经网络和Logistic回归模型 主要的方法工具，并将特别开发和应用方法 适用于尼古丁成瘾及相关复杂遗传学的研究 表型。初步研究一直很有希望，并表明进一步 基于这些工具的遗传方法的研究是有必要的。这个 研究计划还将扩大这些应用的范围，以包括用途 对于遗传关联分析，由于大规模的不平衡和 基于关联的方法预计将变得越来越重要 复杂性状基因定位。萨科内博士选择约翰·赖斯博士作为导师和 将与更多的合作导师和顾问合作。培训部分 这项建议的扩大将使萨科内？S博士的经验包括：正在进行的 在研究道德行为方面的培训，在临床上的进一步培训 尼古丁和其他物质成瘾的生物学方面，以及 发展使用和分析其他类型遗传数据的专门知识 除了基因类型数据，比如基因表达阵列数据，这将发挥作用 在人类复杂特征研究中发挥着越来越重要的作用。这个 应聘者设计了一个课程作业和辅导计划来完成 这些研究和培训目标，从而通过以下方式实现研究独立性 奖励期结束。

DESCRIPTION: (Provided by Applicant): Cigarette smoking is a major risk factor for premature death and creates a substantial public health burden. While studies have shown that smoking and nicotine dependence are complex traits influenced by significant genetic components, further research is needed to identify genes that influence susceptibility and resistance. The research goal of this proposal is to develop and evaluate new methods for the genetic analysis of complex traits in the context of career development for the candidate, Dr. Nancy Saccone. Dr. Saccone will use artificial neural networks and logistic regression models as her primary methodological tools, and will develop and apply methods especially suited for studying the complex genetics of nicotine addiction and related phenotypes. Preliminary studies have been promising and indicate that further investigation of genetic methods based on these tools is warranted. The research plan will also extend the scope of these applications to include uses for genetic association analysis, as large-scale disequilibrium and association-based approaches are expected to become increasingly important for complex trait gene mapping. Dr. Saccone has chosen Dr. John Rice as mentor and will work with additional co-mentors and consultants. The training components of this proposal will expand Dr. Saccone?s experience to include: ongoing training in the ethical conduct of research, further training in the clinical and biological aspects of nicotine and other substance addiction, and the development of expertise in the use and analysis of other kinds of genetic data besides genotypic data, such as gene expression array data, which will play increasingly important roles in the study of human complex traits. The candidate has designed a program of coursework and mentoring to accomplish these research and training goals and thereby achieve research independence by the end of the award period.