THE CAMBRIDGE STATISTICS DISCUSSION GROUP
Thursday 18th February 1999 7:15 for 7:45
Medical Research Council Cancer Trials Office, 5 Shaftesbury Road,
Cambridge
Man's Best Friend is Dog, Dog's Best Friend is a
Statistician
Ken Lakhani,
Centre for Preventative Medicine,
Animal Health Trust,
Newmarket
Abstract: Many heritable conditions in pedigree dog breeds (deafness,
blindness, hip dysplasia) are major health problems - painful and incurable.
The British Veterinary Association (BVA) supports control schemes:
the animals are clinically monitored and their health status recorded.
Merging these data with the Kennel Club pedigree database provide a
composite research database containing the animal's identity, date of birth,
sex, various other attributes and the clinical condition status, as well as
similar data for its parents. The talk will describe research (jointly with
James Wood, AHT) into the prevalence of some major conditions in particular
breeds, the relationship between the prevalence in offspring and parents, and
to what extent the condition can be controlled by sensible breeding policies.
Speaker: Ken Lakhani became a Barrister (1960) but changed careers by joining
the Nature Conservancy (NC) (Biometrics: Head: J G Skellam; other big names:
Peter Rothery, David Brown, Philip Holgate, Malcolm Mountford - youngest
first!) NERC absorbed NC in 1965; in 1973, the research wing of NC became
the Institute of terrestrial Ecology (ITE). Ken served the biometrical needs
of ITE's Monks Wood Exptl. Station for 20 years, retired in 1994, and since
then has been the Statistical Consultant for Animal Health Trust, Newmarket,
with funding from the Kennel Club. After a lifetime in ecology, concerned
mainly with the survival of POPULATIONS, the focus is now on the health
of population MEMBERS.
Directions: Shaftesbury Road is off Brooklands Avenue (on the left if
you approach from the railway station end). Number 5 is on the left of
Shaftesbury Road; it is the house immediately before the junction with
Fitzwilliam Road. There is very little on-site parking but it should
be possible to park on the street. Access to the building may be difficult
after 7:45.
Next Meetings:
25th March - Alistair Murray (British Antarctic Survey) on
'A Biometrician at Sea - Problems in Antarctic Marine Ecology'.
(PLEASE NOTE ABOVE CHANGE OF DATE!)
13th May - Nick Goldman (Genetics) on 'Hidden Markov Models of Protein
Structure and Protein Sequence Evolution.'
4th October - Chris Palmer (IPH).
Supper: Some members eat regularly in the University Centre before
each meeting at 6-15. Feel free to join them.
Subscriptions: of 4 pounds per member are now due for the 1998-9 session.
Cheques should be made payable to Margaret Corbett and may be posted
to the secretary at the address below.
Secretary: Peter Watson, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit,
15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 2EF;telephone 01223 355294 Extension 380;
E-mail [log in to unmask]
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