Ken Rice is the new graduate program director, and Jim Hughes is program director for the MS Capstone Program.

The University of Washington Genetics Analysis Center (GAC) will serve as the Data Coordination Center (DCC) for a new Mendelian Genomics Research Consortium, aimed at increasing the number of known single-gene disorders. Cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, and Huntington's disease are all examples of single-gene disorders.

Faculty appointment promotions and appointments in the department for 2021 are highlighted.

Daniela Witten has been elected as a council member for the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS) starting September 2021.

Sharon Browning, a professor of biostatistics at the University of Washington has been named senior editor for the Statistical Genetics and Genomics section of GENETICS, a journal published by the Genetics Society of America.

COVID-19 variants continue to emerge, including some with increased transmissibility and severity, which has contributed in many countries to a reversal of decreasing COVID-19 case counts achieved earlier this year. A New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) Special Report, just released, advocated for a global framework to monitor and evaluate these variants and to address the worldwide need for safe and effective vaccines.

PhD students Yiqun Chen and Kun Yue won students awards at the recent annual conference of the Western North American Region (WNAR) of the International Biometric Society.

The University of Washington Genetics Analysis Center (GAC), based in the Department of Biostatistics in the School of Public Health, will be the Coordinating Center for the National Institutes of Health (NIH)’s new Polygenic Risk Score Diversity Consortium.