Mariza de Andrade, Ph.D.

Mariza de Andrade, Ph.D., is a collaborative researcher with interests in both theoretical methods development and applied research.

Dr. de Andrade's methodological research has focused on statistical methods for mapping genes for complex disorders, while her applied research is in the areas of cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases and cancer.

Focus areas

• Linkage analysis for quantitative phenotypes. The R library multic, available at the Comprehensive R Archive Network website, is the offspring of Dr. de Andrade's research. This package includes multivariate and longitudinal analysis, as well as diagnostic tools to identify outlier families and draw their pedigrees.
• Genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Using population studies and through joint work with several consortia, a pre-compute pipeline was created internally to identify population stratification, chromosomal anomalies and "cryptic" relatedness. Using family data, Dr. de Andrade and Brazilian collaborators are developing methods to correct for population structure and identify whether genetic markers are either random (family) or fixed (risk) effects.
• Admixture mapping. The goal is to study the relationship between disease-causing alleles and a population from a specific geographic area.
• Sequencing analysis. The goal is to identify novel single nucleotide variations that are potential risk factors for complex diseases.

Significance to patient care

The combination of genetic and nongenetic risk factors is the key element in identifying risk factors for diseases. Therefore, Dr. de Andrade's research has great clinical utility by allowing physicians to stratify patients exposed to clinical risk factors into high- and low- disease risk groups, identify unexposed patients at risk, and better target prophylaxis.

Professional highlights

• Associate Editor, BMC Genetics, 2007-present
• Associate Editor, Human Heredity, 2011-present
• Chair, Education Committee (2004); Member, Scientific Program Committee (2005-2007); Treasurer (2011-2014) — International Genetic Epidemiology Society