Chris Spencer
Dr Chris Spencer
Postdoctoral Researcher
spencer at stats.ox.ac.uk
+44 (0) 1865 272860 (Department)
+44 (0) 1865 285363 (Direct)
+44 (0 )1865 272595 (Fax)
Research interests
The human genome.
Identifying the genes underlying common disease.
The role of recombination and natural selection in shaping genetic diversity.
About my research
My research interests lie largely in population genetics. My D.Phil. thesis was entitled “Human Genetic Variation and the Evidence for Natural Selection” in which I also spent time trying to understand the role that recombination plays in generating the patterns of genetic diversity in human populations. My interests in this area have lead to involvement in the International HapMap Project (www.hapmap.org) and more recently the Wellcome Trust Case-Control Consortium (www.wtccc.org.uk). The later of these large collaborative projects has given me with a strong interest in trying to identify the genes which underpin heritable common diseases.
Selected publications
-Spencer, C. C., Deloukas, P., Hunt, S., Mullikin, J., Myers, S., Silverman, B., Donnelly, P., Bentley, D. and McVean, G. (2006) The Influence of Recombination on Human Genetic Diversity. PLoS Genet 2
-Spencer, C. C. (2006) Human polymorphism around recombination hotspots. Biochem Soc Trans 34, 535-536
-McVean, G. and Spencer, C. C. (2006) Scanning the human genome for signals of selection. Curr Opin Genet Dev 16, 624-629
-McVean, G., Spencer, C. C. and Chaix, R. (2005) Perspectives on human genetic variation from the HapMap Project. PLoS Genet 1, e54
-Altshuler, D., Brooks, L. D., Chakravarti, A., Collins, F. S., Daly, M. J., Donnelly, P. and International HapMap Consortium (2005) A haplotype map of the human genome. Nature 437, 1299-1320
Biographical Sketch
I am post-doc working for Professor Peter Donnelly F.R.S. in the Mathematical Genetics and Bioinformatics group. My undergraduate training was in genetics, after which I completed a D.Phil. in Statistics here in Oxford under the supervision of Professor Gilean McVean.
List of publications
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