Predictive genomics in asthma management using probabilistic graphical models

Complex traits are conditions that, as a result of the complex interplay among genetic and environmental factors, have wide variability in progression and manifestation. Because most common diseases with high morbidity and mortality are complex traits, uncovering the genetic architecture of these traits is an important health problem. Asthma, a chronic inflammatory airway disease, is one such trait that affects over 300 million people around the world. Although there is a large amount of human genetic information currently available and expanding at a rapid pace, traditional genetic studies have not provided a concomitant understanding of complex traits, including asthma and its related phenotypes. Despite the intricate genetic background underlying complex traits, most traditional genetic studies focus on individual genetic variants. New methods that consider multiple genetic variants are needed in order to accelerate the understanding of complex traits. In this thesis, the need for better analytic approaches for the study of complex traits is addressed with the creation of a novel method. Probabilistic graphical models (PGMs) are a powerful technique that can overcome limitations of conventional association study approaches.

Department dc:contributor.department

Harvard University--MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Himes, Blanca Elena

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Marco F. Ramoni.

• Harvard University--MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/40353

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/40353