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”Introduction to Statistical Methods for Gene Mapping”

The first version of this course was originally produced and operated from February 25, 2016 to March 24, 2016 and it is now set up for a self-paced course for the second version.

Instructor: Ryo Yamada

See "Meet the Course Staff" section for more details.

Course Description

This course is a primer to statistical genetics and covers an approach called linkage disequilibrium mapping, which analyzes non-familial data and has been successfully used to identify genetic variants associated with common and complex genetic traits.

We hope many students find this introductory course interesting and are motivated to study further topics in statistical genetics to understand biological variation from statistical standpoints.

Learning Outcomes

What you’ll learn:

    • Basic terms for genetic variations and gene mapping
    • Linkage disequilibrium mapping and genome-wide association studies (GWAS)
    • Common and rare variants and their effects on phenotypes

Prerequisites

    • Undergraduate level knowledge of molecular genetics
    • Basic concepts of statistical tests and estimation

Lectures

This course consists of 4 sections, and you can see all of the course contents from the course start. Each section is provided with short lecture videos by the instructor, Ryo Yamada, along with sets of assignments related to the contents of the lecture videos (or the self-learning materials of Section 1). By watching the Videos and working on the Assignments, we hope that all participants will gain some basic knowledge on Statistical Methods for Gene Mapping. Although this course intends to develop independent learners in this field, we have the Discussion forum and hope this will lead to fruitful exchanges and discussions.

Course Structure

Section 1: Basic Knowledge for Gene Mapping

Section 2: Linkage Disequilibrium

Section 3: GWAS and Multiple Testing

Section 4: Common Variants and Rare Variants

Assignments and Grading Criteria

To earn a certificate for the course, students must mark the score of 80% or more. Grading for the course is as below. 

Pass: 80 -100%

Fail: Below 79%

Each Section has its Assignments counting for 25% in total. During this course, learners are asked to work on these Assignments on your own pace. The total of Assignments counts for 100%.

      • Section 1 Assignments: 25%
      • Section 2 Assignments: 25%
      • Section 3 Assignments: 25%
      • Section 4 Assignments: 25%

Due date of Assignments: End of the Course [23:30 UTC Tuesday, Feburary 28, 2017]

Certificates will be issued by edX under the name of KyotoUx after the end of the course. 

To avoid any kinds of unexpected troubles including the Internet disconnection, we strongly recommend all learners to submit them with time to spare. 

Multiple attempts are allowed for all assignments. We hope all learners will achieve the perfect score!