Innovative Multidisciplinary Education: The Statistical Genetics of Addiction

描述（由申请人提供）：拟议的研究教育计划具有三个目标：1）为研究生和博士后研究员提供成瘾行为统计遗传学方法的创新教育； 2) 让他们参与并指导他们开发和应用新的统计方法和计算模型，以分析新兴高通量技术产生的大量且不断增加的遗传数据； 3）将这些方法应用于成瘾遗传学的关键问题。我们重点关注两种总体且相互关联的成瘾性疾病：尼古丁和阿片依赖，我们的项目领导者和导师在这两种疾病方面拥有丰富的专业知识。我们提供丰富的数据基础设施，其中包含与特定成瘾行为的遗传学相关的正在进行和已完成的研究。我们建议开发基于课程的方法，为研究生和博士后研究员提供新的知识和机会，与教师导师合作开展研究项目，重点关注尼古丁和处方阿片类药物成瘾的统计遗传学和计算建模方法。第一年我们将选拔两名博士前学生和一名博士后。随后的每一年，我们都会增加参与者的数量，并在 5 年结束时，我们将任命 5 名博士前学生和 5 名博士后，每人最多任期五年。导师已从合作机构的教师中确定，参与者将在这些机构中进行主要任命，包括德克萨斯大学 M. D. 安德森癌症中心、德克萨斯大学健康科学中心和公共卫生学院、贝勒医学院和莱斯大学。其他在成瘾和统计遗传学方面处于领先地位的导师也在来自美国国家酒精滥用和酒精中毒研究所、洛克菲勒大学和德克萨斯农工大学的项目咨询委员会中任职。这些导师因其在成瘾研究、统计遗传学和计算模型、行为科学和遗传流行病学方面的专业知识和经验而同意加入该计划。这项研究教育计划的意义是多方面的。除了教导学生成为专注于成瘾研究的统计遗传学领导者之外，预计还将测试和验证强大的新统计方法，并最终确定新的遗传目标。识别新的遗传风险因素及其与环境的相互作用有助于了解尼古丁和阿片成瘾的遗传病因，并有助于识别风险最高的个体，并根据他们的个人暴露模式和遗传风险状况开发针对性的治疗方法。总之，烟草使用模式的变化和处方止痛药的非法使用（尤其是儿童）的增加，使得教育这些新科学家并让他们参与研究变得至关重要。 公共健康相关性：这项针对博士生和博士后研究员的研究教育计划将为应用于尼古丁和阿片依赖成瘾性疾病的统计遗传学方法提供指导培训。学员及其导师将开发和应用新的统计方法和计算模型，以分析新兴高通量技术产生的大量且不断增加的遗传数据；他们将把这些方法应用于成瘾遗传学的关键问题。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed research education program, has three objectives: 1) to provide innovative education in statistical genetics methods for addictive behaviors to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows; 2) to involve and mentor them in the development and application of new statistical methods and computational models relevant to analyze the vast and ever increasing genetic data being generated from emerging high throughput technologies; and 3) to apply such methods to critical questions in the genetics of addiction. We have focused on two overarching and inter-related addictive disorders with which our Program leaders and mentors have significant expertise: nicotine and opiate dependence. We offer a rich data infrastructure of ongoing and completed studies pertinent to the genetics of select addictive behaviors. We propose to develop curriculum-based methods that provide new knowledge and opportunities for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to work with faculty mentors on research projects focusing on statistical genetics and computational modeling approaches to nicotine and prescription opioid addiction. We will select two pre-doctoral students and one postdoctoral fellow in the first year. Each subsequent year, we will increase the number of participants and at the end of 5 years we will have appointed 5 predoctoral students and 5 postdoctoral fellows each for a maximum of five years. Mentors have been identified from the faculty of collaborating institutions where participants will have their primary appointments including The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, UT Health Science Center and School of Public Health, Baylor College of Medicine, and Rice University. Additional mentors who are leaders in addiction and statistical genetics also serve on the Program Advisory Committee from the National Institutes of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Rockefeller University, and Texas A&M. These mentors have agreed to join the Program for their expertise and experience in addiction research, statistical genetics and computational models, behavioral science, and genetic epidemiology. The significance of this research education program then is multi-fold. In addition to teaching students to become statistical genetic leaders with a focus in addiction research, it is anticipated that robust new statistical methodologies will be tested and validated and finally that novel genetic targets will be identified. The identification of novel genetic risk factors and their interaction with the environment can contribute to understanding the genetic etiology of nicotine and opiate addiction and help to identify individuals at highest risk as well as to develop targeted therapies on the basis of their personal exposure patterns and their genetic risk profiles. In summary, changing patterns of tobacco use and growing illicit use of prescription pain killers, particularly by children, make the significance of educating these new scientists and launching them in research paramount. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This research education program for doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows will provide mentored training in statistical genetics methods applied to addictive disorders focused on nicotine and opiate dependence. The trainees and their faculty mentors will develop and apply new statistical methods and computational models relevant to analyze the vast and ever increasing genetic data being generated from emerging high throughput technologies; and they will apply such methods to critical questions in the genetics of addiction.