By Emma Anderson, Apostolos Gkatzionis, Lucy Goudswaard, Ruth Mitchell, Chin Yang Shapland, Kaitlin Wade and Venexia Walker
In recent years, there has been an explosion of research in Mendelian randomization (MR). It is a useful tool for inferring causality between exposures and outcomes of interest using genetic data. The Mendelian randomization conferences organised by the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU) regularly provide an opportunity to explore these issues.
In 2018, one of the conference attendees was Dr. Sarah Atkinson from Kemri Wellcome Trust in Kilifi, Kenya. As the conference progressed, she began chatting with Dr Ruth Mitchell and the idea emerged of IEU hosting an MR course for African scientists. Sarah applied and was awarded funding from the Wellcome Trust, which was supplemented by the IEU, to host six experts in MR from the IEU to teach a five-day course on Mendelian randomization to African researchers in Kilifi. (more…)