Molecular Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases

Molecular Epidemiology of Diseasecrosses the disciplinary boundaries between laboratory scientists, epidemiologists, clinical researchers and biostatisticians and is accessible to all these relevant research communities in focusing on practical issues of application, rather than reviews of current areas of research.

• Covers categories of biomarkers of exposure, susceptibility and disease
• Includes chapters on novel technologies: genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabonomics, which are increasingly finding application in population studies
• Emphasizes new statistical and bioinformatics approaches necessitated by the large data sets generated using these new methodologies
• Demonstrates the potential applications of laboratory techniques in tackling epidemiological problems while considering their limitations, including the sources of uncertainty and inaccuracy
• Discusses issues such as reliability (compared to traditional epidemiological methods) and the timing of exposure
• Explores practical elements of conducting population studies, including biological repositories and ethics

Molecular Epidemiology of Diseaseprovides an easy-to-use, clearly presented handbook that allows epidemiologists to understand the specifics of research involving biomarkers, and laboratory scientists to understand the main issues of epidemiological study design and analysis. It also provides a useful tool for courses on molecular epidemiology, using many examples from population studies to illustrate key concepts and principles.