Dr. Kelsey Grinde

This work focuses on developing statistical methods for genetic studies in admixed populations, such as African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos, that have been vastly underrepresented in genetics research to date. The diverse, mixed ancestry of admixed populations presents unique challenges and opportunities for statistical inference. The research focuses in particular on two important tasks: inferring genetic ancestry from genotype and sequence data, and identifying genetic variants associated with complex traits and diseases through genome-wide association studies and admixture mapping studies.