Pooling Designs for Microarray Studies

描述(由申请人提供)： 微阵列技术已被证明在癌症研究中有用，它们的使用现在很广泛。为了优化这类研究的信息，良好的实验设计至关重要。不幸的是，实验设计受到的关注相对较少，一些重要的问题仍然悬而未决。一个问题是，是否要在不同受试者之间汇集信使RNA(Mrna)样本。支持和反对共享都有很好的理由；因此，这两种类型的设计都在实践中使用。使用的设计类型肯定会影响数据分析和推断；但确切的影响还不完全清楚，因为汇集只是最近才在微阵列实验的背景下研究的。初步统计计算表明，跨受试者合并mRNA样本可以减少生物变异性的影响，这样做可以减少实验所需的阵列数量。减少的程度取决于实验方差的比率。这项研究项目的总体目标是获得一个独特的数据集，从中我们可以通过实验验证统计计算中的假设，估计实验人群中的方差比率，并提供如何将结果轻松扩展到其他人群的指导方针。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Microarray technologies have proven useful in studies of cancer and their use is now widespread. To optimize information from such studies, good experimental design is critical. Unfortunately, experimental design has received relatively little attention and a number of important questions remain open. One question is whether or not to pool messenger RNA (mRNA) samples across subjects. There are good reasons both for and against pooling; and as a result both types of designs are used in practice. The type of design used will certainly affect data analysis and inference; but the exact effects are not yet completely known as pooling has only recently been studied in the context of microarray experiments. Preliminary statistical calculations have shown that pooling mRNA samples across subjects can reduce the effect of biological variability and in so doing reduce the number of arrays required in an experiment. The extent of the reduction depends on ratios of experimental variances. The overall goal of this research project is to obtain a unique data set from which we can experimentally validate assumptions made in statistical calculations, estimate variance ratios in an experimental population, and provide guidelines on how to easily extend the results to other populations.