Dr. Weeks' research focuses on statistical human genetics in the area of mapping susceptibility loci involved in complex diseases. His primary interest is developing new mapping methods, which involves developing algorithms and statistics, implementing them in computer programs, and testing them on real and simulated data. In addition, he is actively involved in a number of collaborative human genetics projects, all of which constantly challenge him to develop new and more useful methods for dealing with the complexities of real data. He is studying the genetic influences on obesity, lipids, and body composition. In addition, he and his colleagues are studying the effects of methylation on patient recovery outcomes after traumatic brain injury, and on cognitive function within the context of treatment for breast cancer.
1983 B.A., summa cum laude, Biology and Mathematics, Colby College, Waterville, ME
1983-84 Graduate studies in Applied Mathematics, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
1985 M.S., Biomathematics, University of California, Los Angeles
1988 Ph.D., Biomathematics (Kenneth Lange, mentor), University of California, Los Angeles
1989-90 Postdoctoral training (Jurg Ott, mentor), Columbia University, New York, NY
Fellowships:
1982 Research Training Program, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME (David E. Harrison, mentor)
1983 Summer Student Fellow, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, MA (Hal Caswell, mentor)
1986-87 Genetic Mechanisms Training Program, UCLA
1987-88 Systems and Integrative Biology Training Program, UCLA
1989-90 Postdoctoral Fellow with Jurg Ott, Ph.D., Columbia University
HUGEN 2071 Genomic Data Processing and Structures
HUGEN 2080 Statistical Genetics
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Recent publications (from more than 250 peer-reviewed manuscripts)
Last updated June 18, 2024 - use the links above for up-to-date information.
†Graduate student; ‡Post-doctoral trainee.
- Carlson JC, Krishnan M‡, Rosenthal SL, Russell EM‡, Zhang JZ†, Hawley NL, Moors J, Cheng H, Dalbeth N, de Zoysa JR, Watson H, Qasim M, Murphy R, Naseri T, Reupena MS, Viali S, Stamp LK, Tuitele J, Kershaw EE, Deka R, McGarvey ST, Merriman TR, Weeks DE, Minster RL (2023) A stop-gain variant in BTNL9 is associated with atherogenic lipid profiles. HGG Adv 4:100155. PMCID: PMC9630829
- Heinsberg LW‡, Hawley NL, Duckham RL, Pomer A, Rivara AC, Naseri T, Reupena MS, Weeks DE, McGarvey ST, Minster RL (2023) Validity of anthropometric equation-based estimators of fat mass in Samoan adults. Am J Hum Biol 35:e23838. PMCID: PMC10023273
- Heinsberg LW‡, Koleck TA, Ray M‡, Weeks DE, Conley YP (2023) Advancing nursing research through interactive data visualization with R shiny. Biol Res Nurs 25:107-116. PMCID: PMC9900251
- Heinsberg LW‡, Weeks DE (2023) dbGaPCheckup: pre-submission checks of dbGaP-formatted subject phenotype files. BMC Bioinformatics 24:77. PMCID: PMC9985192
- Krishnan M‡, Phipps-Green A, Russell EM, Major TJ, Cadzow M, Stamp LK, Dalbeth N, Hindmarsh JH, Qasim M, Watson H, Liu S, Carlson JC, Minster RL, Hawley NL, Naseri T, Reupena MS, Deka R, McGarvey ST, Merriman TR, Murphy R, Weeks DE (2023) Association of rs9939609 in FTO with BMI among Polynesian peoples living in Aotearoa New Zealand and other Pacific nations. Journal of Human Genetics 68:463-468. PMCID: PMC10313811
- Liu S†, Fu H†, Ray M‡, Heinsberg LW‡, Conley YP, Anderson CM, Hubel CA, Roberts JM, Jeyabalan A, Weeks DE, Schmella MJ (2023) A longitudinal epigenome-wide association study of preeclamptic and normotensive pregnancy. Epigenetics Commun 3. PMCID: PMC10101051
- Moors J, Krishnan M‡, Sumpter N, Takei R, Bixley M, Cadzow M, Major TJ, Phipps-Green A, Topless R, Merriman M, Rutledge M, Morgan B, Carlson JC, Zhang JZ, Russell EM, Sun G, Cheng H, Weeks DE, Naseri T, Reupena MS, Viali S, Tuitele J, Hawley NL, Deka R, McGarvey ST, de Zoysa J, Murphy R, Dalbeth N, Stamp L, Taumoepeau M, King F, Wilcox P, Rapana N, McCormick S, Minster RL, Merriman TR, Leask M (2023) A Polynesian-specific missense CETP variant alters the lipid profile. HGG Adv 4:100204. PMCID: PMC10209881
- Treble-Barna A, Heinsberg LW‡, Stec Z, Breazeale S, Davis TS, Kesbhat AA, Chattopadhyay A, VonVille HM, Ketchum AM, Yeates KO, Kochanek PM, Weeks DE, Conley YP (2023) Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) epigenomic modifications and brain-related phenotypes in humans: A systematic review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 147:105078. PMCID: PMC10164361
- Zhang JZ†, Heinsberg LW‡, Krishnan M‡, Hawley NL, Major TJ, Carlson JC, Harre Hindmarsh J, Watson H, Qasim M, Stamp LK, Dalbeth N, Murphy R, Sun G, Cheng H, Naseri T, Reupena MS, Kershaw EE, Deka R, McGarvey ST, Minster RL, Merriman TR, Weeks DE (2023) Multivariate analysis of a missense variant in CREBRF reveals associations with measures of adiposity in people of Polynesian ancestries. Genet Epidemiol 47:105-118. PMCID: PMC9892232
- Heinsberg LW‡, Niu S, Arslanian KJ, Chen R, Bedi M, Unasa-Apelu F, Fidow UT, Soti-Ulberg C, Conley YP, Weeks DE, Ng CA, Hawley NL (2024) Characterization of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) concentrations in a community-based sample of infants from Samoa. Chemosphere 353:141527. PMCID: PMC10997188
- Rivara AC‡, Russell EM‡, Carlson JC, Pomer A, Naseri T, Reupena MS, Manna SL, Viali S, Minster RL, Weeks DE, DeLany JP, Kershaw EE, McGarvey ST, Hawley NL (2024) Associations between fasting glucose rate-of-change and the missense variant, rs373863828, in an adult Samoan cohort. PLoS One 19:e0302643. PMCID: PMC11146712
Recent preprints
- Carlson JC, Krishnan M‡, Liu S†, Anderson KJ, Zhang JZ†, Yapp TJ†, Chiyka EA†, Dikec DA†, Cheng H, Naseri T, Reupena MS, Viali S, Deka R, Hawley NL, McGarvey ST, Weeks DE, Minster RL (2023) Improving imputation quality in Samoans through the integration of population-specific sequences into existing reference panels. medRxiv [preprint] 2023 October 31 doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.10.31.23297835 PMCID: PMC10635250
- Heinsberg LW‡, Pomer A, Cade BE, Carlson JC, Naseri T, Reupena MS, Viali S, Weeks DE, McGarvey ST, Redline S, Hawley NL (2023) Characterization of sleep apnea among a sample of adults from Samoa. medRxiv [preprint] 2023 November 16 doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.11.16.23298644 PMCID: PMC10680886
