Human Genome Epidemiology: Building the Evidence for Using Genetic Information to Improve Health and Prevent Disease

The first edition of Human Genome Epidemiology, published in 2004, discussed how the epidemiologic approach provides an important scientific foundation for studying the continuum from gene discovery to the development, applications and evaluation of human genome information in improving health and preventing disease. Since that time, advances in human genomics have continued to occur at a breathtaking pace.

With contributions from leaders in the field from around the world, this new edition is a fully updated look at the ways in which genetic factors in common diseases are studied. Methodologic developments in collection, analysis and synthesis of data, as well as issues surrounding specific applications of human genomic information for medicine and public health are all discussed. In addition, the book focuses on practical applications of human genome variation in clinical practice and disease prevention. Students, clinicians, public health professionals and policy makers will find the book a useful tool for understanding the rapidly evolving methods of the discovery and use of genetic information in medicine and public health in the 21st century.

Muin J. Khoury, MD, PhD, is Director of the Office of Public Health Genomics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He is an Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and an Associate in the Department of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Sara R. Bedrosian is a health communications specialist for the Office of Public Health Genomics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.

Marta Gwinn, MD, MPH, is a medical epidemiologist for the Office of Public Health Genomics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She currently leads OPHG's Knowledge Integration effort, which promotes using the tools of human genome epidemiology to translate genomic research results into information for clinical and public health applications.

Julian P. T. Higgins, PhD, is a Senior Statistician at the MRC Biostatistics Unit at the Institute of Public Health in Cambridge, United Kingdom. He headed the UK HuGENet Coordinating Centre in Cambridge from its inception, and is a major contributor to The Cochrane Collaboration.

John P. A. Ioannidis, MD, PhD, is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology at the University of Ioannina School of Medicine in Ioannina, Greece and a collaborating scientist at the Biomedical Research Institute, Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas.

Julian Little, MA, PhD, holds the Canada Research Chair in Human Genome Epidemiology, and is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine at the University of Ottawa in Canada.