Queensland Statistical Genetics

Staff and Students
Funding
Collaborators
Key Recent Publications
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FOR MORE INFORMATION: Go to http://genepi.qimr.edu.au

Lab Head: Professor Peter Visscher
Peter.Visscher@qimr.edu.au

The QSTAG lab works at the interface of quantitative genetics, statistical genetics, population genetics, human genetics, animal genetics, evolution, bioinformatics and genetic epidemiology. The ultimate objective of our research is to understand the genetic basis of differences in risk to disease and other phenotypes between individuals. The focus of current research activities is in the detection and fine-mapping of loci underlying disease and quantitative traits, and is based upon theoretical studies, using analytical and Monte Carlo simulation methods, and on the application of methods to real data. QSTAG works closely with staff at the Genetic Epidemiology lab (Head: Nick Martin) and the Molecular Epidemiology laboratory (Head: Grant Montgomery).

Staff and Students

Dr Beben Benyamin
Dr Stuart Macgregor
Dr Allan McRae
Dr Brian McEvoy
Mr Enda Byrne (PhD Student)
Mr Chris Oldmeadow (PhD Student based at QUT)

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Funding

We gratefully acknowledge support from the following organisations and funding bodies:

• NHMRC (National Health and Medical Research Council)
• ARC (Australian Research Council)
• Wellcome Trust

Collaborators

QSTAG works closely with Professor Nick Martin and Dr. Montgomery from the Genetic Epidemiology and Molecular Epidemiology laboratories at QIMR, Brisbane, Australia.

We also have collaborations with:

• Professor Matt Brown (University of Queensland)
• Professor Lyn Griffiths (Griffith University)
• Professor Mike Goddard (University of Melbourne)
• Dr Rod Lea (Environmentalal Science and Research, New Zealand)
• Professor Kerrie Mengersen (Queensland University of Technology)
• Professor John Sved (University of Sydney)
• Professor Julius Van der Werf (University of New England)
• Professor Dorret Boomsma (VU Amsterdam)
• Professor Douglas Blackwood (University of Edinburgh)
• Professor Ian Deary (University of Edinburgh)
• Professor Seth Grant (Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute)
• Professor W.G. (Bill) Hill (University of Edinburgh)
• Professor W. Richard McCombie (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
• Professor Josephine Pemberton (University of Edinburgh)
• Dr Danielle Posthuma (VU Amsterdam)
• Dr Jon Slate (University of Sheffield)
• Dr Dinand Webbink (Centre for Economic Policy Research, CPB, Netherlands)

  Key Publications

  Tenesa, A., Visscher, PM, Carothers, A, Knott SA (2005). Marker and trait based analysis of QTL using selective genotyping. Behavior Genetics 35:219-228.

  Macgregor S, Knott SA, White I, Visscher PM (2005). Analysis of longitudinal quantitative trait data in complex pedigrees. Genetics 171:1365-1376.

  Visscher PM, Duffy DL (2006). The value of relatives with phenotypes but missing genotypes in association studies for quantitative traits. Genet Epidemiol. 30:30-36

  Macgregor, S., Visscher, P.M. and Montgomery, G.W. (2006) Analysis of pooled DNA samples on high density arrays without prior knowledge of differential hybridization rates. Nucleic Acids Research 20;34(7):e55.

  Macgregor S, Cornes BK, Martin NG, Visscher PM (2006). Bias, precision and heritability of self-reported and clinically measured height in Australian twins. Human Genetics 120:571-580.

  Montgomery GW, Zhu G, Hottenga JJ, Duffy DD, Heath AC, Boomsma DI, Martin NG, Visscher PM (2006). HLA and Genomewide Allele Sharing in Dizygotic Twins. American Journal of Human Genetics 79: 1052-1058.

  Gordon S and Visscher PM (2007). Residual linkage: Why do linkage peaks not disappear after an association study? Human Genetics 121:77-82.

  Beraldi D, McRae AF, Gratten J, Pilkington JG, Slate J, Visscher PM, Pemberton JM. (2007). Quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping of resistance to strongyles and coccidia in the free-living Soay sheep (Ovis aries). Int J Parasitol. 37: 121-129.

  Gratten J, Beraldi D, Lowder BV, McRae AF, Visscher PM, Pemberton JM and Slate J (2007). Compelling evidence that a single nucleotide substitution in TYRP1 is responsible for coat colour polymorphism in a free-living population of Soay sheep. Proc Roy Soc B 274: 619-626.

  McRae AF, Matigian NA, Vadlamudi L, Mulley JC, Mowry B, Martin NG, Berkovic SF, Hayward NK, Visscher PM (2007). Replicated effects of sex and genotype on gene expression in human lymphoblastoid cell lines. Hum Mol Genet. 16:364-73

  Tenesa A, Navarro P, Hayes BJ, Duffy DL, Clarke GM, Goddard ME, Visscher PM (2007). Recent human effective population size estimated from linkage disequilibrium. Genome Research 17:520-526.

  Beraldi D, McRae A, Gratten J, Slate J, Visscher PM, Pemberton J (2007). Mapping quantitative trait Loci underlying fitness-related traits in a free-living sheep population. Evolution. 61:1403-1416.

  Wood I.A., Visscher P.M. and Mengersen K. (2007). Classification based upon gene expression data: bias and precision of error rates. Bioinformatics 23:1363-1370.

  Wray NR, Goddard ME, Visscher PM (2007). Prediction of Individual Risk to Disease from Genome-wide Association studies. Genome Research 17:1520-1528.

  Visscher PM, Macgregor S, Benyamin B, Zhu G, Gordon S, Medland S, Hill WG, Hottenga JJ, Willemsen G, Boomsma DI, Liu Y-Z, Deng H-W, Montgomery GW and Martin NG (2007). Genome Partitioning of Genetic Variation for Height from 11,214 Sibling Pairs. American Journal of Human Genetics 81:1104-1110.

  Deary IJ, Gow AJ, Taylor MD, Corley J, Brett C, Wilson V, Campbell H, Whalley LJ, Visscher PM, Porteous DJ, Starr JM (2007). The Lothian Birth Cohort 1936: a study to examine influences on cognitive ageing from age 11 to age 70 and beyond. BMC Geriatr. 7:28.

  Gratten J, Wilson AJ, McRae AF, Beraldi D, Visscher PM, Pemberton JM and Slate J (2008). A localized negative genetic correlation constrains microevolution of coat color in wild sheep. Science 319: 318-320.

  Hill WG, Goddard ME and Visscher PM (2008). Data and theory point to mainly additive genetic variance for complex traits. PLoS Genetics (in press).

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