Abstract
Since 1987, a group of behavior geneticists have been teaching an annual methodology workshop on how to use state-of-the-art methods to analyze genetically informative data. In the early years, the focus was on analyzing twin and family data, using information of their known genetic relatedness to infer the role of genetic and environmental factors on phenotypic variation. With the rapid evolution of genotyping and sequencing technology and availability of measured genetic data, new methods to detect genetic variants associated with human traits were developed and became the focus of workshop teaching in alternate years. Over the years, many of the methodological advances in the field of statistical genetics have been direct outgrowths of the workshop, as evidence by the software and methodological publications authored by workshop faculty. We provide data and demographics of workshop attendees and evaluate the impact of the methodology workshops on scientific output in the field by evaluating the number of papers applying specific statistical genetic methodologies authored by individuals who have attended workshops.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge the contributions of all the faculty of the methodology workshops over the last three decades (since 1987), as it is the combined efforts of all of them that have made the workshops the unique and valuable training experience that many researchers have enjoyed. I’m truly indebted to my colleagues for allowing me to be part of this endeavor.
Funding
Workshops were made possible with support from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, NATO Advanced Study Institutes, University of Helsinki, University of Colorado Boulder, and the National Institutes of Health (R25 MH019918, R13 MH081635). Dr. Maes received support from R01 DA024304, R25 DA026119 and T32 MH020030.
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Maes, H.H. Notes on Three Decades of Methodology Workshops. Behav Genet 51, 170–180 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-021-10049-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-021-10049-9