Overview
Topic status: We're looking for students to study this topic.
Genome-wide association studies are a new development, made possible through the advent of high-throughput genotyping technology. Like never before, genotypic information is being collected on densely located genetic markers that span a genome. However, with this new opportunity comes new statistical challenges. How can we identify just a few important genetic markers that are truly associated with a trait from tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands of candidate marker-trait associations? Also, how can we construct statistical models that capture the complexity of the underlying genetic processes while remaining computational tractable?
In this PhD project, you will explore and develop Bayesian solutions to these questions. You will have opportunity to conduct research at the interface of statistics and genetics. This project is jointly between QUT and the CSIRO. You will be in the enviable position of having access to phenotypic and genotypic data collected from the MAGIC population. MAGIC is a new experimental cross involving the systematic crossing of multiple inbred parents. It is a multi-million dollar experimental population and is the first time such a design has been implemented in a crop plant. This population has the potential to change the way in which gene discovery is performed in the future. It is also a brand new genetic resource, containing many new wheat cultivars which are suitable for inclusion into breeding programs. There is considerable national and international interest surrounding the MAGIC population.
- Study level
- PhD, Masters
- Supervisors
- QUT
- Organisational unit
Science and Engineering Faculty
- Research area
- Keywords
- bayesian, MAGIC, genome
- Contact
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Please contact the supervisor.
Professor Tony Pettitt
