Skip to main content
Premium Trial:

Request an Annual Quote

Duke Sets up Center for Statistical Genetics and Genomics

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Duke University School of Medicine has established a new Center for Statistical Genetics and Genomics, providing a space for scientists from various disciplines across campus to work collaboratively on computational and statistical challenges in genomics.

The university has tapped Andrew Allen, a professor of biostatistics and bioinformatics at Duke, to lead the center, which it said will bring together quantitative talent from disciplines such as math, biostatistics, statistics, and engineering to work on key problems in genomic medicine. The center will also bring trainees from various educational programs together in a common laboratory environment where they will work together in teams to solve problems, the university said.

"This mixing of various perspectives and backgrounds will help break down traditional barriers between disciplines and will form a potent model for the development of future quantitative genomic scientists," Allen said in a statement.

"Sophisticated computational and statistical methods are required to advance our knowledge of disease biology as well as to identify important, treatment-relevant features of individual patient genomes," he continued. "It is essential that, as an institution, Duke not only be a sophisticated user of these techniques and create an infrastructure for their principled use, but that Duke becomes a leader in this field and push the development of computational and statistical approaches that respond to existing or emerging challenges."


The Scan

Machine Learning Helps ID Molecular Mechanisms of Pancreatic Islet Beta Cell Subtypes in Type 2 Diabetes

The approach helps overcome limitations of previous studies that had investigated the molecular mechanisms of pancreatic islet beta cells, the authors write in their Nature Genetics paper.

Culture-Based Methods, Shotgun Sequencing Reveal Transmission of Bifidobacterium Strains From Mothers to Infants

In a Nature Communications study, culture-based approaches along with shotgun sequencing give a better picture of the microbial strains transmitted from mothers to infants.

Microbial Communities Can Help Trees Adapt to Changing Climates

Tree seedlings that were inoculated with microbes from dry, warm, or cold sites could better survive drought, heat, and cold stress, according to a study in Science.

A Combination of Genetics and Environment Causes Cleft Lip

In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers investigate what combination of genetic and environmental factors come into play to cause cleft lip/palate.