Molecular and Genetic Epidemiology

Research and Specialization

• Research focusing on defining the role of genetic factors and interaction with environment in the etiology of complex diseases and traits, such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes, across ethnic populations and genetic ancestries.

• Developing large multiethnic population-based resources for genetic, biomarker and other ‘omic’ epidemiologic research, including large-scale genome-wide association studies and next-generation sequencing studies for cancer and other complex traits.

• Developing and applying novel statistical methods for genetic research in diverse multiethnic populations and for the integration of multi- ‘omics’ data (e.g., germline variation, microbiome, DNA methylation, gene expression, protein levels, metabolomics) to better understand biological pathways involved in disease and possible targets for treatment and prevention.

• Investigating the evolutionary forces that shaped the genetic architecture of complex traits and tracing the evolutionary origin of risk alleles identified through human genetics studies.

• Developing approaches to engage participants in cancer genomic and genetic research, increase diversity of molecular and genetic epidemiological studies, and understand the impact of participation in these studies.