Teaching 2012-2013

• When does the first class take place?
• Wednesday February 13, from 1-5pm
• If you have a laptop, please bring it to this and subsequent classes
• No other material is necessary, unless announced


• When do the next classes take place?
• Click here for an updated course schedule. All classes take place from 1-5pm.
Updated ()


• Where do the classes take place?
• room S11 (B23 RDC)


• What about homeworks?
• Click here for some guidelines


• What if I have additional questions?
• Consult Kristel Van Steen (kristel.vansteen@ulg.ac.be) before or after class or by e-mail. In order for the mail not to get lost, please mention "genetic epidemiology" in the subject title. Teaching assistent for this course: Jestinah Mahachie (jessmahachie@yahoo.co.uk).

• Course notes:
• Chapter 1: Logistics
• Chapter 2: Introduction to Genetics
Updated (17 February 2013)
• Downloading instructions R and Bioconductor: Follow this link
• Information on using R:
• Part 1: R manuals
• Part 2: Basic Commands !!!
• Part 3: An introduction to R
• Part 4: Advanced
• Part 5: A few illustrative examples in R
• Workshop papers: Some motivations for genetic epidemiology
• Paper 1: Prospects of genetic epidemiology in the 21st century
• Paper 2: Investigative genetics
• Background Information:
• Basic epidemiology

• Course notes: Chapter 3: Relevant questions in genetic epidemiology
Updated (17 February 2013)
• Workshop papers:
• Paper 1: Heritability: concepts and misconceptions
• Paper 2: Key concepts in genetic epidemiology
• Identification of "topics" of interest for homeworks and final project
• Homework assignment 1 (due March 20):
• Guiding questions
Updated (20 February 2013)

• Course notes: Chapter 4: Concepts in basic population genetics
• Solution to HWE problem from class discussion
• Causes of allelic association
• Workshop papers:
• Paper 1: Genomewide association studies - a primer
• Paper 2: Genomewide association studies and human disease
• Paper 3: Genetic Association Studies - from the perspective of an epidemiologist
• Background Information:
• Fundamental concepts in genetics

• Group presentations of homework 1, with in-class discussion. All presentations can be downloaded here
• Course notes: Chapter 5: Population-based genetic association studies
• Workshop papers:
• Paper 1: Genetic Association Studies - from the perspective of a statistician
• How to perform a genome-wide association study in practice?
• About the R SNPassoc package
• Genetic analysis software

• Course notes: Chapter 6: To interact or not to interact?
• Workshop papers:
• What makes a good genetic association study? Are these recommendations extendable to other study types within genetic epidemiology, including gene-environment and gene-gene interaction studies?
• Homework assignment 2 (due April 24):
• Guiding questions
Updated (26 March 2013)

• Group presentations of homework 2, with in-class discussion. All presentations can be downloaded here
• Workshop papers (we will select 1-2 from these for this class)
• Paper 1: Genetic versus epigenetic variation
• Paper 2: Gene-environment-wide association
• Paper 3: Episasis - what's in a name...
• Paper 4: Translation to biological epistasis
• Paper 5: Life is complicated
• Paper 6: Genetic epidemiology and public health
• Link for videa on IT Future of Medicine: "http://www.itfom.eu/digital-media/conferences/303-18-19-april-2012-itfom-presented-to-members-of-european-parliament-in-strasbourg"
• Preparing for the exam:
• Based on the extra information (to improve/correct/append homeworks), homeworks 1 and 2 are merged into one final project, with a clear story that is in line with genetic epidemiology thinking. Weave in elements of a selection of workshop papers 1-5 from this class. An individual report is handed in as final project.
• This individualized project is taken as a basis during the oral exam. The oral exam is completed via a discussion on specific themes relevant to genetic epidemiology: Themes