Human Genomic Association Studies: A Primer for the Infectious Diseases Specialist

Medical science is undergoing a genomic revolution. In coming years, insights from human genomic research will increasingly influence all aspects of infectious diseases, ranging from fundamental laboratory research and clinical care to epidemiology and global health. Infectious disease specialists unfamiliar with genomic methods and computational techniques may shy away from publications that involve human genomics analyses. In this article, we discuss selected aspects of study design and statistical analysis in this area, emphasizing important pitfalls that may compromise the validity of some studies. Our goal is to provide the infectious diseases specialist with information that will aid in the critical evaluation of publications that include human genomic analyses.