GN4310: HONOURS GENETICS - OPTION 2 (2021-2022)

Course Aims: Following the sequencing of the human genome huge strides have been made in identifying the loci associated with disease through techniques such as genome wide association analysis (GWAS). However, over 95% of these disease-associated loci do not appear with the coding regions of the genome but, instead, occur in the 98% of the genome previously dismissed as "Junk" DNA. This has led to a huge glut of thousands of potentially useful loci which the vast majority of researcher are poorly equipped to study. The aim of the current course is to equip students with the knowledge required to understand the regions of the genome required to control the proper expression of the proteins. Students will also be taught the rudiments of whole genome sequencing and will be introduced to the findings of ENCODE consortium who attempted to functionally annotate the human genome. Students will also be introduced to the concepts of missing heritability and the role of multiple loci in generating disease susceptability. An essential part of understanding human health and the causes of disease will rest on our ability to understand how genes are regulated in specific stimuli. Thus, students will receive the most up-to-date understanding of gene regulation and how animal models can be generated and analyzed to understand this process. Finally, the course will seek to strengthen knowledge of the role of epigenetics in health and disease with reference to specific clinical applications.

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

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There are no assessments for this course.