MCSP Department Seminar

The next MCSP Department Seminar will be held on Tuesday, October 22 at
11:30 in SC 134.  It will feature presentations from two Wartburg students who each did research in biostatistics last summer.  Hailee Reist (3Y in Mathematics) participated in the Iowa Summer Institute in Biostatistics at the University of Iowa and will speak about her research on glaucoma and macular degeneration.  Matthew Partridge (4Y in Mathematics) participated in the Summer Institute in Biostatistics at the University of Minnesota and will present about his research on the effects of caffeine on mental ability.  (See below for more information about their presentations.)  As always, refreshments (cookies and beverages) will be provided.  We hope to see you there!

And please mark your calendars for the following Tuesday (Oct 29) as well.  The MCSP Seminar that day will feature a panel discussion on graduate school in STEM fields.  This will be recommended for any student considering graduate school in any STEM field (engineering, math, physics, chemistry, biochemistry, biology, computer science, etc).
  The panel will feature representatives of the University of Iowa and Iowa State University from a variety of disciplines.  At this point I expect to have reps from the areas of mechanical engineering, physics, and biosciences.  Stay tuned for more details.  Please spread the word to your students and let me know if you have any questions.



October 22 Speakers:

Hailee Reist (3Y in Mathematics): "A Genome-wide Association Study of Glaucoma and Age-related Macular Degeneration"

Abstract: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are popular in locating genetic factors underlying complex human traits. This study involves 400 glaucoma patients and 400 age-related macular degeneration (AMD) patients. The goal of this study is to conduct a GWAS analysis in order to identify genetic factors affecting these two traits. Each patient is genotyped with Affymetrix GeneChip Mapping 500K Array Set or GeneCHip Mapping 500K Assay. The distributions of genotypes between glaucoma patients and AMD patients are compared using the Pearson’s Chi-Squared Test.  Forty-four significant SNP sites were found at a significance level of 10^-8.  The most prominent signals are located on chromosome 1,
3 and 10.


Matthew Partridge (4Y in Mathematics): "The Summer Institute in Biostatistics Experience at the University of Minnesota"

Abstract: This summer I took part in the Summer Institute in Biostatistics at the University of Minnesota. I learned the skills needed for biostatistics and put these skills to use in a simulated study examining the effects of caffeine on difficult mental arithmetic ability. This seminar will describe this study as well as the design of a potential polypill trial made by our institute as a whole. My experience and thoughts of the SIBS program will also be discussed.