Alexander Young, Anderson School of Management, University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA)
Inferring genetic causation using randomization of genetic material within families and modeling intergenerational inequalities
Multiple phenomena contribute to genotype-phenotype associations: causal effects of alleles carried by the individual on the individual (direct genetic effects); effects of alleles in relative(s) through the environment, called indirect genetic effects (IGEs); and confounding due to population stratification and assortative mating (AM). Confounding factors can lead to spurious inferences in downstream applications of genome-wide association studies (GWASs). Family-based GWAS 鈥� by using random genetic variation within families 鈥� removes confounding from estimates of direct genetic effects. However, current family-based GWASs are limited in power due to relatively small sample sizes of genotyped first-degree relatives. We describe our software package, snipar, that works within a theoretical framework that treats parental genotypes as missing data and imputes them based on Mendelian laws. We show results from our meta-analysis of family-based GWAS studies across 16 cohorts and 34 phenotypes. We end by examining mathematical models for joint genetic and cultural transmission of traits from parents to offspring.
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