Bringing biology back to human genomics

Speaker: Marylyn D. Ritchie, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Vanderbilt University
Department of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics Center for Human Genetics Research  Director, Program in Computational Genomics

Abstract: Genomic technologies are generating dense, rich, high quality measures of genomic variation and full genome sequencing will only add to this wealth of data. Much of these data are deposited into national databases and/or made openly available to the research community with the goal that researchers can and will combine these data to develop new information and knowledge.Methodological advances in the analysis of these data and the ability to integrate these data across experiments have simply not kept pace with this flood of data. This critical need extends to integrating data, results, and approaches across studies and phenotypes, including a variety of data types such as proteomic, gene expression, imaging, clinical laboratory data, metabolomics, and pharmacogenomics.The current paradigm in biomedical research is that multiple studies are needed, exploring the question from different perspectives to elucidate architecture. It is imperative that analytic methods be developed to combine potential datasets in ways that will produce additional information such that the whole will be greater than the sum of the parts. The utility of our monumental investment in data generation will ultimately depend on having innovative strategies and study designs that make full use of multiple data sources in an integrated analytical framework. This presentation is devoted to discussing some of the latest advances in the integration of genomic data with other types of biological data to extract the maximal amount of information from genomic studies and enhance our ability to gain knowledge about the genetic architecture of common, complex traits.