CGACT: Center for Genetics and Complex Traits

The Center for Genetics and Complex Traits (CGACT) is a Type I Center of the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics. The theme of CGACT is to develop and apply epidemiological and statistical approaches that integrate knowledge from the human genome, basic molecular and cellular biology, biomedical informatics, behavioral science, bioethics and the clinical sciences to understand complex human disease traits.

These methods will be applied to study etiology and outcomes associated with cancer, sleep disorders, psychiatric disorders including addiction, obesity, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, asthma, cardiovascular disease, and others.

Report of Activities - 2009

Cool New Science

Kanetsky PA, Panossian S, Elder DE, Guerry D, Ming ME, Schuchter L, Rebbeck TR. Does MC1R genotype convey information about melanoma risk beyond risk phenotypes? Cancer 2010 May 15; 116(10): 2416-28.
Sleiman PM, Flory J, Imielinski M, Bradfield JP, Annaiah K, Willis-Owen SA, Wang K, Rafaels NM, Michel S, Bonnelykke K, Zhang H, Kim CE, Frackelton EC, Glessner JT, Hou C, Otieno FG, Santa E, Thomas K, Smith RM, Glaberson WR, Garris M, Chiavacci RM, Beaty TH, Ruczinski I, Orange JM, Allen J, Spergel JM, Grundmeier R, Mathias RA, Christie JD, von Mutius E, Cookson WO, Kabesch M, Moffatt MF, Grunstein MM, Barnes KC, Devoto M, Magnusson M, Li H, Grant SF, Bisgaard H, Hakonarson H. Variants of DENND1B associated with asthma in children. N Engl J Med. 2010 Jan 7; 362(1): 36-44.
Rebbeck TR, Mitra N, Domchek SM, Wan F, Chuai S, Friebel TM, Panossian S, Spurdle A, Chenevix-Trench G; kConFab, Singer CF, Pfeiler G, Neuhausen SL, Lynch HT, Garber JE, Weitzel JN, Isaacs C, Couch F, Narod SA, Rubinstein WS, Tomlinson GE, Ganz PA, Olopade OI, Tung N, Blum JL, Greenberg R, Nathanson KL, Daly MB. Modification of ovarian cancer risk by BRCA1/2-interacting genes in a multicenter cohort of BRCA1/2 mutation carriers. Cancer Res. 2009; 69(14): 5801-10.
Bishop DT, Demenais F, Iles MM, Harland M, Taylor JC, Corda E, Randerson-Moor J, Aitken JF, Avril MF, Azizi E, Bakker B, Bianchi-Scarrà G, Bressac-de Paillerets B, Calista D, Cannon-Albright LA, Chin-A-Woeng T, Debniak T, Galore-Haskel G, Ghiorzo P, Gut I, Hansson J, Hocevar M, Höiom V, Hopper JL, Ingvar C, Kanetsky PA, Kefford RF, Landi MT, Lang J, Lubinski J, Mackie R, Malvehy J, Mann GJ, Martin NG, Montgomery GW, van Nieuwpoort FA, Novakovic S, Olsson H, Puig S, Weiss M, van Workum W, Zelenika D, Brown KM, Goldstein AM, Gillanders EM, Boland A, Galan P, Elder DE, Gruis NA, Hayward NK, Lathrop GM, Barrett JH, Bishop JA. Genome-wide association study identifies three loci associated with melanoma risk. Nat Genet. 2009; 41(8): 920-5.
Kanetsky PA, Mitra N, Vardhanabhuti S, Li M, Vaughn DJ, Letrero R, Ciosek SL, Doody DR, Smith LM, Weaver J, Albano A, Chen C, Starr JR, Rader DJ, Godwin AK, Reilly MP, Hakonarson H, Schwartz SM,Nathanson KL. Common variation in KITLG and at 5q31.3 predisposes to testicular germ cell cancer. Nat Genet. 2009; 41(7): 811-5..
Zhao H, Rebbeck TR, Mitra N. A propensity score approach to correction for bias due to population stratification using genetic and non-genetic factors. Genet Epidemiol. 2009 Apr 7.
Mushlin RA, Gallagher S, Kershenbaum A, Rebbeck TR. Clique-finding for heterogeneity and multidimensionality in biomarker epidemiology research: the CHAMBER algorithm. PLoS ONE 2009; 4(3): e4862.