StudyQA — PhD: Human and Statistical Genetics — Washington University in St. Louis

Photos of university / #wustl_official

Description Contents Requirements Funding

The Human and Statistical Genetics Ph.D. Program at Washington University in St. Louis offers an interdisciplinary approach to preparing future scientists with analytical/statistical, computational, and human genetic methods for the study of human disease. Biology students performing human genetics research will acquire the necessary quantitative skills to analyze their datasets. Biostatisticians will acquire the biological skills and knowledge necessary to become intellectual collaborators in all phases of human genetics research, from initial experimental design through data analysis and interpretation.

This program allows students to specialize in: “Human Genetics” or “Statistical Genetics”. Students focusing on Human Genetics will have majored in the biological sciences and have at least a minimum background in analytical/ statistical/ computational area. Students focusing on Statistical Genetics will have majors in statistical/ mathematical/ analytical sciences with at least a certain minimum background in biology. Training will address human/mammalian genetics, statistical genetics, and bioinformatics. A typical student in this program will pursue a dissertation devoted either to the development of novel analytical method(s) needed to solve a certain biological problem (Statistical Genetics), or human genetic research employing state-of the art molecular tools (Human genetics).

The major goal of the program is to provide students with interdisciplinary training in “wet lab” molecular biology and human genetics as well as in the analytical and computational techniques of genetic epidemiology and statistical genetics. Graduates of the program will understand the critical issues in both fields and will be able to employ both fields in addressing and answering problems in biomedical research. To achieve true integration, each student will do three research rotations, with at least one in each of the two areas. All students will be exposed to teaching skills by serving as TAs for one semester and will also take a Research Ethics course.

The curriculum is designed to address the needs of students from both backgrounds, primarily biological versus primarily analytical/ statistical. Students lacking adequate cross training will take remedial courses. To foster close peer interactions among students from both streams, all students will take three required courses:

Fundamentals of Mammalian Genetics (L41 Bio 5285)
Human Linkage and Association (M21 GEMS 5483)
Computational Statistical Genetics (M21 GEMS 621)

Each student will also take a minimum of 9 credits (maximum of 12 credits) of advanced electives. Students will opt for one of the two tracks, in consultation with the Faculty Directors, depending on their background and the choice of electives. The current list of electives includes the following:

Advanced Genetics (L41 Biol 5491)
An introduction to Genomic Analysis (L41 Biol 5498)
Bioinformatics (M21 GEMS 550)
Computational Mol Biology (L41 Biol 5495)
Current Research in Chromatin, Epigenetics, and Nuclear Organization (L41 Biol 5284)
Data Mining and Applications to Computational Biology (L41 Biol 5506)
Epidemiology, Clinical Trials, Study Design and Management (M21 GEMS 616)
Fundamentals of Molecular Cell Biology (L41 Biol 5068)
Genomics (L41 Biol 5488)
Nucleic Acids and Protein Synthesis (L41 Biol 548)
Population Genetics (L41 Biol 4181)
Probability (L24 MATH 493)
Statistics (L24 MATH 494)
Stochastic Processes (L24 MATH 495)
Theory of Statistics (L24 MATH 5061)
Theory of Statistics II (L24 MATH 5062)

Requirements

Demographics
Three letters of recommendation
Academic history
Test Scores
- GRE
- TOEFL (if applicable)
Two essays and a 10 word research description
Listing of Major coursework
Work history
Awards/Honors
Publication list (if any)
Payment of $45 application fee by credit card as part of the on-line application or obtain a fee waiver (please see fee waivers FAQ for additional information).
Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences conducts interviews by invitation only after the completed application and materials have been submitted, received and evaluated. Interviews are not conducted prior to submission and evaluation of an application.