Program Introduction

The aim of the population genetics concentration is to consider the effects of genes, environmental risk factors, and the interaction of the two in the process for genetically complex diseases such as asthma, COPD, osteoporosis, diabetes, hypertension, drug addiction, and coronary heart disease.

Population genetics is a multidisciplinary field, combining various aspects of genetics, epidemiology, statistics, biology, medicine, and computer science; those who work in this field have equally diverse backgrounds. The concentration is intended to provide candidates with ample training in all critical areas needed to carry on independent research, including gene-mapping to identify the loci and variants responsible for the genetic contribution to complex diseases, gene assessment to investigate the role of a particular (candidate) gene in disease pathogenesis, analysis of gene-environmental interactions to explore the relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors in disease, and mutation detection and allele frequency distribution to assess the distribution of disease-predisposing factors in the population at large.

The Program for Population Genetics (PPG) is presently engaged in several large-scale studies of common, genetically complex, human diseases. In addition, PPG investigators collaborate closely on related studies with the Occupational Health Program; Environmental Epidemiology Program; other programs in the Departments of Environmental Health, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics; and Channing Laboratory at Brigham and Women's Hospital.