YSPH Biostatistics: Colin White Memorial Lecture: "Missing Heritability and Genetic Ancestry: Mendelian Versus Complex Traits”

SPEAKER: Neil Risch, PhD, Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco

TITLE: "Missing Heritability and Genetic Ancestry: Mendelian versus Complex Traits”

ABSTRACT: Mendelian and complex disease genetics represent the confluence of reverse and forward genetics. Mendelian genetics now focuses heavily on exome or whole genome sequencing for diagnostic purposes, and phenotypic characterization of rare functional variants. Complex genetics focuses on genome-wide association studies of common variants of modest effects. Both have been characterized as having missing heritability – in that the inheritance of the trait or disease cannot be fully explained by identified variants. For both, missing heritability has also been reported to be differentially associated with different genetic ancestries. Here I will discuss and contrast the relationship of genetic ancestry to missingness of heritability in both settings

YSPH values inclusion and access for all participants. If you have questions about accessibility or would like to request an accommodation, please contact Charmila Fernandes at Charmila.fernandes@yale.edu. We will try to provide accommodations requested by March 27, 2024.