Statistical Genetics Methods Workshop

描述(申请人提供)：自1987年以来，已在比利时鲁汶和科罗拉多州博尔德举办了21个关于双胞胎和家庭研究方法的国际研讨会。我们建议于2008年夏天在比利时鲁汶举办一次科学会议--“双胞胎和家庭研究方法论二十一周年国际研讨会”，以纪念该研讨会成立21周年。这将是评估过去讲习班的效力和规划今后讲习班的内容和形式的适当时机。周年讲习班的主要目标是：1)汇集过去20年来为至少3次讲习班作出贡献的教员和统计遗传方法论方面的培训专家；2)由世界各国领导人在数据分析方面提供最先进的介绍(可能包括动手实践部分)。主题从评估和表型鉴定，到基础和高级遗传流行病学、连锁和关联研究，以及单倍型图谱和全基因组关联研究的最新进展；3)举办关于统计遗传学“过去、现在和未来”的研讨会；4)促进不同专业领域的专家之间的讨论；5)促进新的合作。研讨会的教职员工是开发新的统计方法的领导者，需要这些方法来解决在遗传信息研究中收集的数据的数量和复杂性的增加。周年纪念研讨会将侧重于新的研究方法。这些因素将为教师和研究人员提供参与的强烈动机。大量研究正在收集有关遗传和环境因素的大量高质量数据，这些因素可能导致肥胖、精神障碍和药物滥用等常见健康问题的易感性。了解这些因素所需的统计方法正变得越来越复杂，各行各业的研究人员需要接受培训，以便最大限度地利用这些数据集。这次研讨会将提供这方面的培训，并为今后的说教和协作会议确定有希望的领域。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Since 1987, twenty-one International Workshops on the Methodology of Twin and Family Studies have been held in Leuven, Belgium and Boulder, Colorado. We propose to hold a scientific meeting 'The Twenty-First Anniversary International Workshop on the Methodology of Twin and Family Studies' in the summer of 2008 in Leuven, Belgium on the twenty-first anniversary of the inaugural workshop. This will be an opportune time to assess the effectiveness of past workshops and to plan the content and format of future workshops. The primary objectives of the anniversary workshop are to: 1) bring together the faculty who have over the past 20 years contributed to at least 3 workshops and who are experts in training of statistical genetic methodology; 2) provide state-of- the-art presentations (which may include hands-on practical components) by world leaders in data analysis. Topics would range from assessment and phenotyping, to basic and advanced genetic epidemiology, linkage and association studies, and the latest advances in haplotype mapping and whole genome association studies; 3) present a symposium on 'the past, present and future' of statistical genetics; 4) promote discussions between the experts of the different specialty areas and 5) stimulate new collaborations. The workshop faculty members are leaders in the development of new statistical methods, which are required to address the increase in quantity and complexity of data being collected in genetically informative studies. The anniversary workshop will focus on novel research methods. These factors will provide both faculty and researchers a strong incentive to participate. A large number of studies are collecting large amounts of high-quality data on genetic and environmental factors that may be responsible for susceptibility to common health problems such as obesity, psychiatric disorders and substance abuse. The statistical methods required to unravel these factors are becoming increasingly complex and researchers in a wide variety of disciplines need training in order to make the most of these data sets. This workshop will provide that training and identify promising areas for future didactic and collaborative meetings.