Logical Reasoning In Human Genetics

A course by Drs. Joseph Terwilliger and Kenneth Weiss

Place: National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland

Time: September 19 - 23, 2004

Agenda

A detailed agenda is here (PDF format): CR_GSTAT_AGENDA_19230904_HKI.pdf.

Summary of Agenda

• Day 1: Introduction to the problem
• Philosophical overview
• The genetic theory of evolution and the rise and patterning of variation
• The resulting nature and structure of the genome
• Basic concepts of linkage and linkage disequilibrium mapping
• Discussion and/or student work
• Day 2: Simple traits
• AM: Introduction to the notion of simple “Mendelian” traits
• PM: Methodological approaches to simple traits and how they work
• PM: Discussion and/or student work
• Day 3: Complex traits
• AM: Phenogenetics and the consequences of evolution by phenotype
• PM: Detectance, study design, and linkage and LD analysis of complex traits
• Day 4: Non-genetic complications and some inferential issues
• AM: Environmental and cultural cofactors and the like
• PM: Effect size estimation, attributable risk, and their equivalents in genetics
• Day 5:
• AM: Conceptual issues and strategies: Causation, association, inference, and truth
• PM: Wrap-up: Conceptual issues and strategies: Interpretation and inference

Teachers

Dr. Joseph D. Terwilliger (homepage)

• Associate Professor of Neuroscience (in Psychiatry, Columbia Genome Center, and Genetics and Development) Columbia University (USA) and New York State Psychiatric Institute, USA.
• Adjunct Professor, Finnish Genome Center, University of Helsinki, Finland.

Dr. Kenneth Weiss (homepage) and (lab homepage)

• Evan Pugh Professor of Biological Anthropology and Genetics, Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, USA.

Assistants

Co-cordinator: Markus Perola, teaching asisstant: Tero Hiekkalinna (homepage) and Sampo Sammalisto

Schedule

Time: September 19 - 23, 2004. Lectures and computer exercises will start Sunday at noon and end at 4.00pm on Thursday.

Saturday 18.9. Faculty Dinner 18.00- Students are welcomed to participate (everybody pays for his/her own dinner).

Fee

There is a course fee (200 Euros for academics, 400 Euros for non-academics) for non-Genomeutwin applicants, details will be given in the acceptance letter.

Apply

Please e-mail your application to linkage@genomeutwin.org by August 9th, 2004. The participants will be accepted, in general, on a first come, first served basis. However, we will also select potential participants based on their CV qualifications. The application should be no more than one page including your short CV and a paragraph on why you would like to participate in this course. If you belong to a group associated with GenomEUtwin, please state so. Such applicants will have priority access. Accepted students will hear from us by August 16th.

PLEASE NOTE: Each student should bring her/his own laptop computer for computer exercises if possible. There will be a local network so the laptops should be equipped with a network adapter (for details please e-mail tero.hiekkalinna@ktl.fi). There will be a limited number of laptops available for loan.

Because the space will be limited, the participants will be selected from their applications.

Location

Course will be held at National Public Health Institute (KTL homepage), Helsinki, Finland. F-building, Mannerheimintie 166.

See map of Helsinki and locate Mannerheimintie 166.

See map of KTL and F-building.

Downtown to KTL

Easiest way to commute to KTL is by taking tram 10 from downtown (leave at Tilkka stop, it's 100 meters before KTL). But you can plan your own journey as well by using Journey Planner from your own location (hotel).

Hotels

Information about hotels in Helsinki can be found from here. Hotels close by KTL are for example Radisson SAS Hesperia Hotel or Scandic Hotel Continental Helsinki.

Airport to hotel

Taxi: Taxi ranks are located in front of both terminals; taxi companies include Airport Taxi Yellow Line and Suomen Airport Taxi. Taxi's are generally honest and trustable in Finland.

Bus: Bus stops are located in front of both terminals. Timetable information is available in all Arrivals halls. Public buses to Helsinki city centre depart every 10-30 minutes between 6.00am-1.00am. The Finnair bus runs to the city centre every 15-20 minutes from 0545-0110 daily.

More info