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Dr. Shelley
Bull
SENIOR
INVESTIGATOR
Dr.
Shelley Bull, Senior Investigator, is one of only a dozen research
biostatisticians in Canada working at the interface of human genetics
and statistics. Discovering true relationships in the face of
uncertainty is one of the major tasks of statistical science.
Developing and using statistics to help solve some of the genetic
puzzles linked to breast cancer and type 1 diabetes, Dr. Bull looks at
both the causes and outcomes of diseases that strike many
Canadians.
With
the foundation of data produced by the International Human HapMap
project and access to new molecular technologies, it is now possible to
survey the entire genome for common variation associated with disease
in large numbers of individuals. Having as many as a million
measurements on each person means that studies can be comprehensive and
can generate many new ideas about the underlying biology, but some of
the associations detected will turn out to be “false leads”. To develop
more sensitive and reliable methods for finding true positive
associations, Dr. Bull uses statistical theory and computational
experiments that require powerful computers. With better methods,
precious research resources for followup studies can be directed to the
“best bets”.
Guided
by state-of-the-art statistical methods, Dr. Bull examines data for
clinical and population health insights. She is interested in
determining the factors that distinguish who gets what disease – and
who doesn’t. She also focuses on discovering genetic factors that lead
to increased susceptibility to disease recurrence.
In
2000, Dr. Bull was awarded The Anthony Miller Award For Excellence In
Research In Public Health given to recognize the outstanding
contributions to research of faculty in the Graduate Department of
Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto. In 2002, she
received the Senior Investigator Award from the Canadian Institutes of
Health Research. She currently leads a national team of investigators
in statistical genetic modeling and analysis that is supported by the
Networks of Centres of Excellence Program in the Mathematics of
Information Technology and Complex Systems.
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