A genomewide association study of refractive error in the 1958 British Birth Cohort. (360G-Wellcome-083478_Z_07_Z)

We propose a novel and timely two-stage genomewide association study of refractive error (RE) in a nationally representative population, the 1958 British Birth Cohort (1958BC). Our joint analysis approach will be informed by our recently completed lifecourse epidemiological investigation of environmental determinants [12] and our on-going candidate-gene association study [13], both within this population which provides unique opportunities for studying complex traits. Additional strengths inclu de: -our leadership of the ophthalmic component of the MRC-funded biomedical survey of the 1958BC at 44 years allowing primary myopia phenotype capture without misclassification -robust measurement of quantitative trait of RE in a random subsample (N=2093) -good power to detect modest effects (eg > 80% power to detect alleles contributing 10% variance) with likelihood of false discovery within reasonable limits -the extant 1958BC DNA bank funded by Wellcome Trust -prior inclusion of a sub sample of 1958BC in the WT Case Control Consortium [14]. -existing resources for the staff costs of the present proposal -high-throughput high quality genotyping (Illumina s Infinium technology) outsourced to commercial organisations with whom we have established links Our proposal adds value to substantial prior investment in the 1958BC as a national resource for biomedical research, as well as in our work on RE.