Last week, ISU's Department of Animal Science's Animal Breeding and Genetics section, hosted a short course in Kildee Hall titled: Introduction to Graphical Models with Application to Quantitative Genetics and Genomics. There were close to 75 in attendance and attendees traveled from all over the world to attend. Twenty-seven countries were represented from 4 different continents.
Students and professionals from a diverse background, including animal and plant breeding, human genetics and mathematics, were exposed to a variety of topics on graphical modeling. In this course, instructors expanded knowledge on correlations and relationships between variables, and how to make use of structural equations and networks to combine genetic (e.g. gene expression and genotypes) and performance data (e.g. milk production in cattle) to explain complex biological events and improve selection.
Dr. Guilherme Rosa (University of Wisconsin-Madison) & Dr. Francisco Peñagaricano (University of Florida) were instructors for the course. Dr. Jack Dekkers & Dr. Nick Serão were course coordinators.