The International Speaker Seminar Series (ISSS) and group discussions are free and OPEN TO ALL.

Seminars are broadcast to research centers interested in participating online.

Unless otherwise indicated, seminars are held from 12:00 to 1:00 pm on the first Friday of every month October to June. Group discussions with the speakers are held from 1-2 pm on the same days.

With this series, and in the context of genetic epidemiology and statistical genetics research, STAGE aims to:

  1. expose trainees to high-caliber international research
  2. further interdisciplinary research innovation, discovery, and learning
  3. foster a cohesive research community of genetic epidemiologists and statistical geneticists in Canada
  4. promote rigorous and relevant research in this field
  5. enable new networks of collaborative research

Upcoming Events

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Sponsors

The ISSS continues to prosper, and we look forward to welcoming more distinguished speakers in the coming years, all made possible by the generous support of our sponsors.

Past STAGE Events

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DateTime     SpeakerTitlePartner
October 5, 201812:00pm to 1:00pm

Augustine Kong - Headshot

Dr. Augustine Kong
Professor of Statistical Genetics, Nuffield Department of Medicine, Big Data Institute, University of Oxford

The Nature of Nurture: Effects of Parental Genotypes

Abstract

Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute
March 22, 201912:00pm to 1:00pm

Stijn Vansteelandt - Headshot

Dr. Stijn Vansteelandt

Professor of Statistics, Ghent University (Belgium); Professor of Statistical Methodology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Inferring causal pathways from data: challenges and some solutions

Abstract

Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute
May 21, 2019

10:30am to 11:30am

(Princess Margaret Hospital Auditorium 6-604, 610 University Ave)

Li, Li - Headshot

Dr. Li Li

Walter M. Seward Professor and Chair of Family Medicine, University of Virginia

Racial Disparities and Precision Prevention of Colon Neoplasia

Abstract

University Health Network
June 7, 201912:00pm to 1:00pm

Gil McVean - Headshot

Dr. Gil McVean 

Professor of Statistical Genetics at the University of Oxford; Director of Oxford’s Big Data Institute

Mapping the structure of genetic risk for common disease in the UK Biobank

Abstract

McLaughlin Centre

DateTime SpeakersAffiliationTalk TitleHost
October 6, 201712:15pm to 1:15pm

Cristen Willer - Headshot

Dr. Cristen Willer

Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, of Human Genetics, of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan

Insights into Human Health and Cardiometabolic Disease Using Large-Scale Genomics

Abstract

Sponsored by Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute
November 3, 201712:00pm to 1:00pm

Stephens Matthew - Headshot

Dr. Matthew Stephens

Professor of Statistics and Human Genetics
University of Chicago

Come Join the Multiple Testing Party!

Abstract

Sponsored by Ontario Institute for Cancer Research
December 1, 201712:15pm to 1:15pm

Joseph H Lee - Headshot

Dr. Joseph H. Lee

Associate Professor,
Department of Epidemiology,
Columbia University;
Sergievsky Center & Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s disease and the Aging Brain, College of Physicians and Surgeons

Examination of human knock-in models to identify protective genetic factors for Alzheimer disease: Exploring PSEN1 founder mutation carriers and adults with Down syndrome

Abstract

Sponsored by Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program
February 2, 201812:00pm to 1:00pm

Julia Bailey - Headshot

Dr. Julia Bailey

Adjunct Associate Professor,
Department of Epidemiology, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health

Successful localization of genes that predispose to epilepsy using large pedigrees

Abstract

Sponsored by CAMH
March 2, 201812:00pm to 1:00pm

Daniel J Schaid - Headshot

Dr. Daniel J. Schaid

Professor of Genomics Research, Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Mayo Clinic

Statistical Fine-mapping: Methods to Move Beyond Genome-Wide Association Studies

Abstract

Sponsored by Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute
April 6, 201812:00pm to 1:00pm

Nilanjan Chatterjee - Headshot

Dr. Nilanjan Chatterjee 

Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, Department of Biostatistics, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Oncology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University

Complex Model Building for Precision Medicine using Summary-Level Information from Big Data Sources

Abstract

Sponsored by Ontario Institute for Cancer Research
May 4, 201812:00pm to 1:00pm

Andrey Rzhetsky - Headshot

Dr. Andrey Rzhetsky

Pritzker Scholar, Edna K. Papazian Professor of Medicine & Human Genetics
University of Chicago

Adventures in the land of complex disease etiology with large clinical datasets

Abstract

Sponsored by McLaughlin Centre
May 31, 20189:00am to 10:00am

Carl D Langefeld - Headshot

Dr. Carl Langefeld 

Professor, Department of Biostatistical Sciences, Co-Director, Bioinformatics Core, Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center

Transancestral mapping and genetic load in systemic lupus erythematosus

Abstract

Sponsored by Genetic and Genome Biology, Sick Kids
June 1, 201812:00pm to 1:00pm

Carl D Langefeld - Headshot

Dr. Carl Langefeld 

Professor, Department of Biostatistical Sciences, Co-Director, Bioinformatics Core, Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center

Predictive ability of SLE genetic risk factors varies across ethnicities

Abstract

Sponsored by Genetic and Genome Biology, Sick Kids

DateTimeSpeakersAffiliationTalk TitleHost
September 30, 201612:00pm to 1:00pm

Peter Kraft - Headshot

Dr. Peter Kraft
Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics,
Director of Program in Genetic Epidemiology and Statistical Genetics,
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Recent advances in the integrative molecular epidemiology of breast cancer.

Abstract: click here

Sponsored by OICR
November 4, 201612:00pm to 1:00pm

Matthew Freedman - Headshot

Dr. Matthew Freedman Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School;
Associate Physician, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute;
Associate Member, Broad Institute

The Genomics and Epigenomics of Prostate Cancer

Abstract

Sponsored by McLaughlin Centre
December 2, 201612:00pm to 1:00pm

Jeff Leek - Headshot

Dr. Jeff Leek
Associate Professor of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health;
Co-Director of the Johns Hopkins University Data Science Lab

Computational re-annotation of the human transcriptome with the recount project

Abstract

Sponsored by Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute
February 3, 201712:00pm to 1:00pm

Goncalo Abecasis - Headshot

Dr. Goncalo Abecasis
Felix E. Moore Collegiate Professor and Department Chair, Department of Biostatistics, University of Michigan School of Public Health

Sequencing and Analysis of 10,000s of Human Genomes: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

Sponsored by Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute
March 3, 201712:00pm to 1:00pm

Joanna Biernacka - Headshot

Dr. Joanna Biernacka
Director of Psychiatric Genomics and Pharmacogenomics Program, Professor of Biostatistics, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science

Psychiatric Genomics and Pharmacogenomics: Recent Advances and Ongoing Challenges

Abstract

Sponsored by CAMH
April 7, 201712:00pm to 1:00pm

Rebecca Hauser - Headshot

Dr. Elizabeth Hauser
Professor, Duke Molecular Physiology Institute (DMPI),
Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics,
Department of Medicine,
Duke University School of Medicine

Gene-Environment Interactions in Cardiovascular Disease: Air Pollution and Stress

Abstract

Sponsored by Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute
May 5, 201712:00pm to 1:00pm

Ellen L Goode

Dr. Ellen L. Goode
Department of Health Sciences Research
College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic

Integrative Molecular Epidemiology of Ovarian Cancer

Abstract

Sponsored by OICR
June 1, 20179:00am to 10:00am

Neil Risch - Headshot

Dr. Neil Risch

Professor, Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Director, Institute for Human Genetics
University of California, San Francisco

Genetic Epidemiology Research Based in Electronic Health Records, Part 1. Population Structure, Mating Patterns and Self-Identified Race/Ethnicity

Abstract

Sponsored by Genetic and Genome Biology, Sick Kids
June 2, 201712:00pm to 1:00pm

Neil Risch - Headshot

Dr. Neil Risch

Professor, Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Director, Institute for Human Genetics
University of California, San Francisco

Genetic Epidemiology Research Based in Electronic Health Records, Part 2. Linking the genome to longitudinal disease and trait data

Abstract

Sponsored by Genetic and Genome Biology, Sick Kids

DateTimeSpeakersAffiliationTalk TitleHost
February 5, 2016noon to 1:00pm

Guillaume Paré - Headshot

Dr. Guillaume Paré

Director, Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology Laboratory, Hamilton Health Sciences
Associate Professor, Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University

A Method to Estimate the Contribution
of Regional Genetic Associations
to Complex Traits from Summary
Association Statistics

France Gagnon

This is a partnered seminar with the
Centre for Genetic Medicine,
The Hospital for Sick Children

March 4, 2016noon to 1:00pm

Benjamin Voight - Headshot

Dr. Benjamin Voight

Assistant Professor, Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics,
Department of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine

Genome-wide mutation rates viewed through a seven-nucleotide window

Anna Goldenberg

This is a partnered seminar with The McLaughlin Centre, University of Toronto

April 1, 2016CANCELED
Will be rescheduled for a later date.

Ellen L Goode

Dr. Ellen L. Goode

Professor of Epidemiology, Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic

Molecular epidemiology of ovarian cancer

Jennifer Brooks

This is a partnered seminar with the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research.

May 6, 2016  2016 Biostatistics Research Day  
June 3, 2016noon to 1:00pm

Shili Lin - Headshot

Dr. Shili Lin

Professor of Statistics, Department of Statistics, Ohio State University

Addressing the Correlated Feature in Sequencing-Based DNA Methylation
Data for Detection of Differentially Methylated Regions

Shelley Bull

This is a partnered seminar with the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute

DateTimeSpeakersAffiliationTalk TitleHost
Oct. 3, 2014noon to 1:00 pm

Paul Brennan

Section and Group Head, Genetic Epidemiology Group, International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organization

What proportion of oropharynx cancers are caused by HPV, and can we use HPV antibodies to identify them early?Rayjean Hung
Nov. 7, 2014noon to 1:00 pm

Richard Simon

Chief, Biometric Research Branch, Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health

Development of Predictive Classifiers Based on High Dimensional Data
Validation for an Intended Use
Shelley Bull
Dec. 5, 2014noon to 1:00 pm

John Stamatoyannopoulos

Associate Professor, Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington

Decoding the human genome: Reading nature’s text, punctuation, and ongoing editsMichael Wilson
Feb. 5, 2015noon to 1:00 pm

Joan E. Bailey-Wilson

Co-Chief & Senior Investigator, Inherited Disease Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health

Detecting germline risk variants for complex diseases with illustrations for rare variantsGagnon, France
Mar. 6, 2015noon to 1:00 pm TBCTBCTBC
Apr. 10, 2015noon to 1:00 pm

Rafael Irizarry

Professor, Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health
Professor, Biostatistics and Computational Biology, Dana Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Rafael Irizarry's lab page.

TBCTBC
May 1, 2015noon to 1:00 pm

Curtis Huttenhower

Associate Professor of Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
Department of Biostatistics
Harvard School of Public Health

TBCTBC
Jun. 5, 2015noon to 1:00 pm TBCTBCTBC

DateTimeSpeakersAffiliationTalk TitleHost
Oct. 4, 2013noon to 1:00 pm

Andreas Ziegler

Professor and head of the Institute of Medical Biometry and Statistics, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Luebeck,
University of Luebeck, Germany

Probability Machines: Estimating individual probabilities using machine learning methodsFrance Gagnon
Nov. 1, 2013noon to 1:00 pm

Dr. Bruce Rannala

Professor, Department of Evolution and Ecology, College of Biological Sciences, UC Davis Genome Center

Statistical analysis of pooled samples for whole-genome case-control associations: A SNP GWAS of lung cancer susceptibility genes in the Northern Thai populationFrance Gagnon
Dec. 6, 2013noon to 1:00 pm Rescheduled for April 4, 2014.  
Jan. 31, 20141:00 to 2:00 pm

Erwin Schurr

Investigator, Centre for the Study of Host Resistance

Professor, Department of Human Genetics

Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Experimental Medicine
McGill University

Genetic dissection of complex infection phenotypesFrance Gagnon
Mar. 7, 2014noon to 1:00 pm

Chris Amos

Associate Cancer Center Director for Population Sciences
Head, Center for Genomic Medicine
Professor, Department of Community and Family Medicine
Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College

Genetic Architecture of Lung Cancer SusceptibilityRayjean Hung
Apr. 4, 2014noon to 1:00 pm

Bhramar Mukherjee

Associate Professor, University of Michigan School of Public Health

Gene-environment interactions: new directions and novel applicationsHoward Hu
May 2, 2014noon to 1:00 pm

Frank Dudbridge

Professor, Department of Non-communicable Disease Epidemiology and Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Explaining heritability and predicting risk with polygenic scoresShelley Bull
Jun. 6, 2014noon to 1:00 pm

Xihong Lin

Professor, Department of Biostatistics
Harvard School of Public Health

Statistical Genetics and Genomics in the Big Data Era: Opportunities and Challenges in Research and TrainingTBC

DateTimeSpeakersAffiliationTalk TitleHost
Sep. 14, 2012noon to 1:00 pm

Marjo-Ritta Jarvelin

Divisional Director of Postgraduate Studies
Professor and Chair, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, MRC-HPA Centre for Environment and Health, Faculty of Medicine
Imperial College London

Genetics of Early Growth

ISSS Colour Poster [ PDF ]

Lyle Palmer
Oct. 5, 2012noon to 1:00 pm

Sharon Browning

Associate Professor, Department of Biostatistics
University of Washington

Identity by descent in
“unrelated” individuals

ISSS Colour Poster [PDF]

Lei Sun
Nov. 2, 2012noon to 1:00 pm

Duncan C. Thomas

Professor and Director, Biostatistics Division
Verna R. Richter Chair in Cancer Research, Department of Preventive Medicine
University of Southern California

Two-phase family-based designs for next generation sequencingShelley B. Bull
Dec. 7, 2012noon to 1:00 pm

Howard Hu

Director and Dean
Dalla Lana School of Public Health
University of Toronto

Looking behind the curtain: Lead Toxicity as a Case Study of Methodologic Challenges in Gene-Environment Interactions ResearchFrance Gagnon
Jan. 11, 2013noon to 1:00 pm

David Tregouet

Head director, Institute for Cardio-Metabolism and Nutrition (ICAN), Genomics Department, Pierre and Marie Curie University Campus
Research Director, 2nd Class, Mixed Research Unit S 937 - Genomics of Venous Thrombosis, Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (INSERM)

Haplotypes & Imputation, Two Complementary Tools: A Case Study on GenomeWide Expression StudiesFrance Gagnon
Jan. 25, 20131:00 to 2:00 pm

 

Director, Director of Research, Institut National de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)
Head of the Genetic Variation and Human Diseases Unit, INSERM-University Paris

Common and rare variants in the genetic susceptibility to melanoma

ISSS Colour Poster [PDF]

Shelley B. Bull
Mar. 1, 2013noon to 1:00 pm

Kimberly D. Siegmund

Associate Professor of Biostatistics
Department of Preventive Medicine, USC Keck School of Medicine
University of Southern California

DNA Methylation Studies using Illumina HumanMethylation450 BeadArrays

ISSS Colour Poster [PDF]

Shelley B. Bull
Apr. 5, 2013noon to 1:00 pm

Mathieu Lupien

Scientist, Ontario Cancer Institute
OICR Investigator, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR)
Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto

Epigenomics reveal the function of genetic risk-variants in cancer

ISSS Colour Poster [PDF]

Michael Wilson (TBC)
May 3, 2013noon to 1:00 pm

George Davey-Smith

Scientific Director of The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) & MRC Centre for Causal Analyses in Translational Epidemiology
Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, School of Social and Community Medicine
University of Bristol

How Can Genetic Epidemiology Help Identify Modifiable Causes of Disease

ISSS Colour Poster [PDF]

Lyle Palmer

DateTimeSpeakersAffiliationTalk TitleHost
October 7, 2011noon to 1:00 pm

Stephen S. Rich

Director, Center for Public Health Genomics
Harrison Professor & Vice Chair, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Virginia

The Search for Genes Associated with Ischemic Stroke through GWAS and Exome Sequencing

ISSS Colour Poster [ PDF ]

Andrew Paterson
November 4, 2011 CANCELLEDCANCELLEDCANCELLEDCANCELLED
December 2, 2011noon to 1:00 pm

Ellen M. Wijsman

Professor, Division of Medical Genetics and Department of Biostatistics
University of Washington

New genomics technologies and complex traits: what do we gain, and what are the challenges?

ISSS Colour Poster [ PDF ]

France Gagnon
January 6, 2012noon to 1:00 pm

Suzanne M. Leal

Professor
Director, Center for Statistical Genetics
Department of Molecular and Human Genetics
Baylor College of Medicine

From Linkage Studies to Next Generation Sequencing and Back Again: Leveraging Next Generation Sequence Data and Families to Identify Disease Genes

ISSS Colour Poster [ PDF ]

TBC
January 27, 20121:00 to 2:00 pmDr. Clarice R. Weinberg Chief, Biostatistics Branch, National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health

Using nuclear families to find genes related to conditions with onset early in life.

ISSS Colour Poster [ PDF ]

Andrew Paterson
March 2, 2012noon to 1:00 pm

John Witte

Professor of Epidemiology & Biostatistics and Urology
University of California, San Francisco
Associate Director
Institute for Human Genetics
Head, Division of Cancer Epidemiology
Co-Leader, Program in Cancer Genetics, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center

Design and Analysis of Next-generation Genetic Epidemiological Studies.

ISSS Colour Poster [ PDF ]

Rayjean Hung
April 13, 2012noon to 1:00 pm

Veronica J. Vieland

Vice President for Computational Research and Director
Battelle Center for Mathematical Medicine at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Department of Statistics
The Ohio State University College of Medicine

Calibration of Statistical Evidence using Principles of ThermodynamicsLisa Strug
May 4, 2012noon to 1:00 pmDr. Alice S. Whittemore Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Department of Health Research and Policy
Stanford University School of Medicine
Evaluating Personal Risk ModelsLaurent Briollais
June 1, 2012noon to 1:00 pmCANCELLEDCANCELLEDCANCELLEDCANCELLED

DateTimeSpeakersAffiliationTalk TitleHost
October 5, 20103:30 to 4:30 pm

Martin D. Tobin

Professor of Genetic Epidemiology and Public Health
MRC Clinician Scientist Fellow
Genetic Epidemiology Group
Departments of Health Sciences & Genetics
University of Leicester

Copy Number Variation and Complex Human Disease: Examples of Two Recent Studies

ISSS Colour Poster
[ PDF (1.5 MB) ]

Lyle Palmer
November 19, 2010noon to 1:00 pm

Thomas J. Hudson

President and Scientific Director
Ontario Institute for Cancer Research

Genome Variation and Cancer

ISSS Colour Poster
[ PDF (556 KB) ]

France Gagnon
December 3, 2010noon to 1:00 pm

Sündüz Keles

Associate Professor
Departments of Statistics and Biostatistics & Medical Informatics
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

Multi-reads enable detection of novel peaks in ChIP-seq analysis

ISSS Colour Poster
[ PDF (1 MB) ]

Lei Sun
January 14, 2011noon to 1:00 pm

Michael Boehnke

Richard G. Cornell Distinguished University Professor of Biostatistics,
School of Public Health
, University of Michigan

Director, Center for Statistical Genetics, and Genome Science Training Program

Identifying Genes for Type 2 Diabetes and Related Traits by Genome-Wide
Association and Sequencing Studies
Shelley B. Bull
February 4, 2011noon to 1:00 pm

Colin B. Begg

Chair, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre

Distinguishing Second Primary Cancers From Metastases: Statistical Challenges in Testing Clonal Relatedness of Tumors

ISSS Colour Poster [ PDF (600 KB) ]

Laurent Briiollais
March 4, 2011noon to 1:00 pm

Pierre-Emmanuel Morange

INSERM, UMR S 626, Université de la Méditerranée, Marseille, France

Lessons from Genome-Wide Association Studies in Venous Thrombosis

ISSS Colour Poster
[ PDF (500 KB) ]

France Gagnon
April 1, 2011noon to 1:00 pm

Chiara Sabatti

Associate Professor, Department of Health Research and Policy (Biostatistics) and
Statistics (by Courtesy)
Stanford University

Genetics in a Finnish Birth Cohort

ISSS Colour Poster
[ PDF (971 KB) ]

Lei Sun
May 6, 2011noon to 1:00 pm

Terri H. Beaty

Professor and Deputy Chair, Department of Epidemiology in the Bloomberg School of Public Health
Johns Hopkins University

Impact of Study Design in Genome Wide Association Studies

ISSS Colour Poster
[ PDF (532 KB) ]

John McLaughlin