Dr. Jinko Graham

Speaker: Dr. Jinko Graham, Professor, Department of Statistics & Actuarial Science, Simon Fraser University
Title: Relatedness, genealogies and DNA sharing
Date: April 22, 2022
Time: 1:30PM (PDT)
Location: Hybrid - Halpern 126 and Zoom

Abstract

A central idea of genetics is that similarity in relationships is reflected by similarity in inherited traits. Related individuals share segments of their genome, derived from a DNA segment in a common ancestor. Variation in the DNA sequences of individuals reflects their underlying genealogical relationships and tells us about their ancestry and origins. The implications of these relationships have many practical applications including in forensics, conservation and ecology, family identification, and tracing history and migrations of populations (human or otherwise). They can also tell us about individual predisposition to inherited traits, and so are of use in the genetic mapping of heritable diseases. I will provide an overview pertaining to our work in the area of disease-trait mapping and present recent progress in exploring these ideas with data.