The Genomics of Common Diseases Annual Conference 2012

his sixth annual conference marks the 20th anniversary year of the founding of Nature Genetics. Over the past six years, our understanding of the genetic architecture of disease has been progressively redefined by genome-wide association studies characterizing common variation, the fine mapping of these associated regions, the emergence and growth of new sequencing technologies, and the assessment of rare variant association.

With the improvements in genome sequencing technologies, this past year has seen a rapid increase in the availability of exome and whole genome sequencing datasets. This conference will include presentations highlighting the latest in sequencing technologies with applications to characterize genetic variation and disease associations. The conference will also include presentations on using high-density custom genotyping chips, refining associations through fine mapping, moving from association to function and annotation of functional regions, analyzing sequencing datasets, and exploring the genetic architecture of common disease.