Featured Publications
A statistical framework to identify cell types whose genetically regulated proportions are associated with complex diseases
Liu W, Deng W, Chen M, Dong Z, Zhu B, Yu Z, Tang D, Sauler M, Lin C, Wain L, Cho M, Kaminski N, Zhao H. A statistical framework to identify cell types whose genetically regulated proportions are associated with complex diseases. PLOS Genetics 2023, 19: e1010825. PMID: 37523391, PMCID: PMC10414598, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010825.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsCell typesDisease-associated tissuesWide association studyComplex diseasesCell type proportionsDisease-relevant tissuesReal GWAS dataFunctional genesTranscriptomic dataGWAS dataGenetic dataAssociation studiesNovel statistical frameworkChronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseStatistical frameworkObstructive pulmonary diseaseIdiopathic pulmonary fibrosisBreast cancer riskType proportionsBlood CD8Pulmonary diseasePulmonary fibrosisPredictive biomarkersLung tissueBreast cancer
2020
Leveraging functional annotation to identify genes associated with complex diseases
Liu W, Li M, Zhang W, Zhou G, Wu X, Wang J, Lu Q, Zhao H. Leveraging functional annotation to identify genes associated with complex diseases. PLOS Computational Biology 2020, 16: e1008315. PMID: 33137096, PMCID: PMC7660930, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008315.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsExpression quantitative trait lociComplex traitsNovel lociIdentification of eQTLGene expressionTranscriptome-wide association study methodLinkage disequilibriumQuantitative trait lociAssociation study methodsCombined Annotation Dependent Depletion (CADD) scoresAnnotation-dependent depletion scoreExpression levelsDisease-associated genesEpigenetic annotationsEpigenetic informationFunctional annotationTrait lociGenetic variationGenesPrevious GWASLociGenetic effectsTraitsComplex diseasesGWAS
2019
Improving Genetic Association Analysis through Integration of Functional Annotations of the Human Genome
Lu Q, Zhao H. Improving Genetic Association Analysis through Integration of Functional Annotations of the Human Genome. 2019, 679-30. DOI: 10.1002/9781119487845.ch24.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchGenome-wide association studiesFunctional annotationHuman genomeAssociation analysisAnnotation dataFunctional annotation dataPost-GWAS analysisSummary association statisticsGenetic association analysisGWAS findingsGWAS dataIntegrative analysisAssociation studiesComplex diseasesAssociation statisticsGenetic associationGenomeComputational methodsAnnotationTraitsDirect applicationStatistical powerMost diseasesInterpretable metricsTens of thousands
2017
Systematic tissue-specific functional annotation of the human genome highlights immune-related DNA elements for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease
Lu Q, Powles RL, Abdallah S, Ou D, Wang Q, Hu Y, Lu Y, Liu W, Li B, Mukherjee S, Crane PK, Zhao H. Systematic tissue-specific functional annotation of the human genome highlights immune-related DNA elements for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. PLOS Genetics 2017, 13: e1006933. PMID: 28742084, PMCID: PMC5546707, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1006933.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsTissue typesNon-coding elementsNon-coding genomeComplex human diseasesLate-onset Alzheimer's diseaseIndividual cell typesRelevant tissue typesGWAS traitsTranscriptomic annotationGenome annotationFunctional annotationDNA elementsHeritability enrichmentHuman genomeLarge international consortiaVariety of cellsGenomeHuman diseasesAnnotation dataCell typesGenetic variantsOrgan system categoriesComplex diseasesSimilar localizationAnnotationLeveraging functional annotations in genetic risk prediction for human complex diseases
Hu Y, Lu Q, Powles R, Yao X, Yang C, Fang F, Xu X, Zhao H. Leveraging functional annotations in genetic risk prediction for human complex diseases. PLOS Computational Biology 2017, 13: e1005589. PMID: 28594818, PMCID: PMC5481142, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005589.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH KeywordsChromosome MappingData Interpretation, StatisticalData MiningDatabases, GeneticEpigenomicsGenetic Association StudiesGenetic Predisposition to DiseaseGenetic VariationGenome, HumanHumansLinkage DisequilibriumPolymorphism, Single NucleotideProportional Hazards ModelsQuantitative Trait LociRisk AssessmentConceptsGenome-wide association studiesFunctional annotationGenetic risk predictionDisease-associated genetic variantsLinkage disequilibriumIdentification of thousandsWide association studyHuman complex diseasesComplex diseasesGWAS summary statisticsHuman genetics researchAssociation studiesAnnoPredGenotype dataGenetic researchGenetic variantsRelevant variantsAnnotationDisequilibriumMost diseasesDiverse typesSummary statisticsVariantsBayesian frameworkPrecision medicineDissecting Pathway Disturbances Using Network Topology and Multi-platform Genomics Data
Zhang Y, Linder M, Shojaie A, Ouyang Z, Shen R, Baggerly K, Baladandayuthapani V, Zhao H. Dissecting Pathway Disturbances Using Network Topology and Multi-platform Genomics Data. Statistics In Biosciences 2017, 10: 86-106. PMID: 37388623, PMCID: PMC10309155, DOI: 10.1007/s12561-017-9193-0.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMolecular regulatory elementsCopy number variantsRegulatory elementsMRNA moleculesPathway-based analysisBRAF pathwayCancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) projectMultiple tumor lineagesTumor-specific aberrationsRegulatory topologyRelevant copy number variantsDiverse cancer typesMultiple omicsGenomic dataMajor geneCancer typesGene expressionSingle-platform analysisOncogenic pathwaysNumber variantsMethylationComplex diseasesTumor lineageAtlas projectPathway
2015
Introduction to statistical methods in genome-wide association studies
Yang C, Li C, Chung D, Chen M, Gelernter J, Zhao H. Introduction to statistical methods in genome-wide association studies. 2015, 26-52. DOI: 10.1017/cbo9781107337459.005.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchGenome-wide association studiesAssociation studiesPopulation genomic studiesQuantitative trait lociComplex diseasesTrait lociGenomic studiesSingle nucleotide polymorphismsGenetic basisNumber variantsNucleotide polymorphismsPharmaceutical potentialUnique resourceGenomicsLociBroad impactHaplotypesStatistical methodsPolymorphismVariantsPharmacogenomicseQTL mapping
Chen M, Yang C, Li C, Zhao H. eQTL mapping. 2015, 208-228. DOI: 10.1017/cbo9781107337459.016.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchGenome-wide association studiesAssociation studiesPopulation genomic studiesQuantitative trait lociComplex diseasesEQTL mappingTrait lociGenomic studiesSingle nucleotide polymorphismsGenetic basisNumber variantsNucleotide polymorphismsPharmaceutical potentialUnique resourceGenomicsLociBroad impactHaplotypesPolymorphism
2014
GPA: A Statistical Approach to Prioritizing GWAS Results by Integrating Pleiotropy and Annotation
Chung D, Yang C, Li C, Gelernter J, Zhao H. GPA: A Statistical Approach to Prioritizing GWAS Results by Integrating Pleiotropy and Annotation. PLOS Genetics 2014, 10: e1004787. PMID: 25393678, PMCID: PMC4230845, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1004787.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsGenome-wide association studiesFunctional annotationGWAS datasetsAnnotation informationStatistical approachMultiple GWAS datasetsGenome-wide markersPowerful statistical methodsSingle-phenotype analysisCentral nervous system genesRisk variantsNervous system genesGenotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) databaseComplex diseasesGWAS data setsSignificant pleiotropic effectsCommon risk basisDifferent complex diseasesDNase-seq dataCell linesStatistical inferenceGenetic architectureGWAS hitsGWAS resultsNovel statistical approach
1997
Strategies to Identify Genes for Complex Diseases
Zhang H, Zhao H, Merikangas K. Strategies to Identify Genes for Complex Diseases. Annals Of Medicine 1997, 29: 493-498. PMID: 9562515, DOI: 10.3109/07853899709007473.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsComplex diseasesNumerous human diseasesDisease-susceptible genesComplex human disordersHuman genomeGenetic basisHuman disordersHuman diseasesMolecular biologyGenesGenetic epidemiological studiesGenetic factorsComplex patternsDisease pathophysiologyGenomeBiologyTraitsInheritanceMultiple sclerosisBreast cancerEpidemiological studies