Guest lecture, Lars Fritsche, University of Michigan, USA

Lessons from Large Case-Control Studies of Age-related Macular Degeneration

Speaker: Lars Fritsche, PhD, Research Investigator at the Center for Statistical Genetics, University of Michigan, USA

Dr. Fritsche is a research investigator working with world-renowned statistical geneticist Prof. Gonçalo Abecasis at the University of Michigan to unravel the genetic causes of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). He received his Ph.D. in Human Genetics at the University of Regensburg and has continued to work and publish on the genetics of AMD since 2005.

Dr. Fritsche is spearheading large scale AMD studies (AMD Gene Consortium, International AMD Genomics Consortium) that so far have led to the discovery of over 20 novel AMD risk loci. He is also lead analyst for the Michigan Genomics Initiative and the Genes for Good project, two innovative research efforts at the University of Michigan, each aiming to engage tens of thousands of individuals in genetic research.