Molecular Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases

"I think this is an excellent book-I recommend itto anyone involved in molecular epidemiology... The 26 chapters arewritten by topic specialists, in an explanatory, east to readstyle." -BTS Newsletter, Summer 2009 "This text provides an accessible and useful handbook for theepidemiologist who wants to survey the field, to become betterinformed, to look at recent developments and get some background onthese or simply to appreciate further the relatively rapid changesin informatic and analytical technologies which increasingly willserve and underpin future epidemiological studies. One of thestrengths in this book is the extensive array of practicalillustrative examples, and it would also in my opinion have usefulpotential as a teaching text." -American Journal of HumanBiology, March 2009 With the sequencing of the human genome and the mapping of millionsof single nucleotide polymorphisms, epidemiology has moved into themolecular domain. Scientists can now use molecular markers to trackdisease-associated genes in populations, enabling them to studycomplex chronic diseases that might result from the weakinteractions of many genes with the environment. Use of theselaboratory generated biomarker data and an understanding of diseasemechanisms are increasingly important in elucidating diseaseaetiology. Molecular Epidemiology of Disease crosses thedisciplinary boundaries between laboratory scientists,epidemiologists, clinical researchers and biostatisticians and isaccessible to all these relevant research communities in focusingon practical issues of application, rather than reviews of currentareas of research. * Covers categories of biomarkers of exposure, susceptibility anddisease * Includes chapters on novel technologies: genomics,transcriptomics, proteomics and metabonomics, which areincreasingly finding application in population studies * Emphasizes new statistical and bioinformatics approachesnecessitated by the large data sets generated using these newmethodologies * Demonstrates the potential applications of laboratorytechniques in tackling epidemiological problems while consideringtheir limitations, including the sources of uncertainty andinaccuracy * Discusses issues such as reliability (compared to traditionalepidemiological methods) and the timing of exposure * Explores practical elements of conducting population studies,including biological repositories and ethics Molecular Epidemiology of Disease provides aneasy-to-use, clearly presented handbook that allows epidemiologiststo understand the specifics of research involving biomarkers, andlaboratory scientists to understand the main issues ofepidemiological study design and analysis. It also provides auseful tool for courses on molecular epidemiology, using manyexamples from population studies to illustrate key concepts andprinciples.