Conference: Emerging Statistical and Quantitative Issues in Genomic Research in Health Sciences

The 2023 Conference of the Program in Quantitative Genomics (PQG), entitled “Diversity in Genetics and Genomics” will take place at the Joseph B. Martin Conference Center at the Harvard Medical School on October 17-18, 2023. This long-standing Harvard T. H. Chan School Public Health Program in Quantitative Genomics Conference series focuses on timely interdisciplinary discussions on emerging statistical and computational challenges in genetic and genomic science. The focus of each conference evolves in parallel to scientific frontiers. A key feature of the series is its interdisciplinary nature, where quantitative and subject-matter scientists jointly discuss statistical and quantitative issues that arise in cutting-edge genetic and genomic research in human diseases. Conference participants critique existing quantitative methods, discuss emerging statistical and quantitative issues, identify priorities for future research, and disseminate results. Diversity in genetic and genomics has been increasingly embraced not only for enabling more powerful studies but also because of the need to avoid further exacerbation of structured inequalities in healthcare systems and to chart a path forward for their amelioration. Significant effort has been made in recent years to improve study participant and workforce diversity in genetics and genomics, including the inclusion of diverse groups in discovery and functional studies and translational efforts to empower or pave the road for equitable clinical impact. The 2023 conference will provide a platform to engage inter-disciplinary researchers to have in-depth discussions on the quantitative challenges and opportunities in increasing diversity in genetic and genomic research. We will make serious efforts to recruit junior researchers, including graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, in particular underrepresented minorities and women, as speakers and participants. The impetus for the 2023 conference theme comes from the pressing need to address the statistical and quantitative issues in diversity in genetic and genomic research. The three topics of the conference include (1) Diversity for gene mapping and studying variant functions; (2) Diversity for translational genetics: polygenic risk and clinical implementation; (3) How do we move forward while acknowledging the past? Examples of the first topic include multi-ancestry genetic association tests, fine-mapping, and eQTL analysis. Examples of the second topic include trans-ethnic polygenic risk prediction and transferred learning. Examples of the third topic include enhancing transparency in the use of population descriptors in genomics research and building global collaborative genetic research frameworks. The education and research activities discussed at the conference will make important contributions to advance efforts on increasing diversity of genetic and genomic research, and will help create the scientific basis and workforce required to ensure and sustain US competitiveness both economically and technologically, prolonging and saving lives, and promoting national security. For more information, see www.hsph.harvard.edu/pqg-conference/. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.