Peter Donnelly
Encyclopedia
Peter Donnelly, FRS (born 15 May 1959) is an Australia
n mathematician
and Professor of Statistical Science at the University of Oxford
. He is a specialist in applied probability
and has made contributions to coalescent theory
. His research group at Oxford has an international reputation for the development of statistical methodology to analyze genetic data.
He was educated at the University of Queensland
and Balliol College, Oxford
. When elected to a chair at Queen Mary College, London
in 1988 he was only 29, and possibly the youngest Professor in Great Britain. He held a chair at the University of Chicago (1994–96) and was head of the Department of Statistics
at the University of Oxford
from 1996 to 2001. Since 2007, he has been Director, Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics,(WTCHG) in Oxford, where he is currently based. He is a fellow at St. Anne's college, Oxford.
Many leading statistical geneticists worked with Donnelly as young researchers including David Balding
, Carsten Wiuf, Matthew Stephens and Jonathan Pritchard. One area in which he has a leading reputation is in the interpretation of DNA
evidence. He has acted as an expert witness
on forensic science in criminal trials.
He is noted for his collaborative work with biologists
. He has been heavily involved in a number of large scale projects, such as the International HapMap Project
and the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium, a genome-wide association study
.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2006 and also elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences
in June 2008.
See also R v Adams
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n mathematician
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and Professor of Statistical Science at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. He is a specialist in applied probability
Applied probability
Much research involving probability is done under the auspices of applied probability, the application of probability theory to other scientific and engineering domains...
and has made contributions to coalescent theory
Coalescent theory
In genetics, coalescent theory is a retrospective model of population genetics. It attempts to trace all alleles of a gene shared by all members of a population to a single ancestral copy, known as the most recent common ancestor...
. His research group at Oxford has an international reputation for the development of statistical methodology to analyze genetic data.
He was educated at the University of Queensland
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
and Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
. When elected to a chair at Queen Mary College, London
Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
in 1988 he was only 29, and possibly the youngest Professor in Great Britain. He held a chair at the University of Chicago (1994–96) and was head of the Department of Statistics
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
from 1996 to 2001. Since 2007, he has been Director, Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics,(WTCHG) in Oxford, where he is currently based. He is a fellow at St. Anne's college, Oxford.
Many leading statistical geneticists worked with Donnelly as young researchers including David Balding
David Balding
David Balding is an Australian statistician and Professor in Statistical Genetics at University College London. Until October 2009 he was a Professor in Statistical Genetics Imperial College London, where he still retains an affiliation as Visiting Professor...
, Carsten Wiuf, Matthew Stephens and Jonathan Pritchard. One area in which he has a leading reputation is in the interpretation of DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
evidence. He has acted as an expert witness
Expert witness
An expert witness, professional witness or judicial expert is a witness, who by virtue of education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have expertise and specialised knowledge in a particular subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially and legally...
on forensic science in criminal trials.
He is noted for his collaborative work with biologists
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
. He has been heavily involved in a number of large scale projects, such as the International HapMap Project
International HapMap Project
The International HapMap Project is an organization that aims to develop a haplotype map of the human genome, which will describe the common patterns of human genetic variation. HapMap is a key resource for researchers to find genetic variants affecting health, disease and responses to drugs and...
and the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium, a genome-wide association study
Genome-wide association study
In genetic epidemiology, a genome-wide association study , also known as whole genome association study , is an examination of many common genetic variants in different individuals to see if any variant is associated with a trait...
.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2006 and also elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences
Academy of Medical Sciences
The Academy of Medical Sciences is the United Kingdom's national academy of medical sciences. It was established in 1998 on the recommendation of a group that was chaired by Michael Atiyah. Its president is John Irving Bell....
in June 2008.
See also R v Adams
R v Adams
R v Adams [1996] 2 Cr App R 467, [1996] Crim LR 898, CA and R v Adams [1998] 1 Cr App R 377, The Times, 3 November 1997, CA, are rulings that ousted explicit Bayesian statistics from the reasoning admissible before a jury in DNA cases.-Facts:...
External links
- TED Talks: Peter Donnelly shows how stats fool juries at TED GlobalTED (conference)TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
in 2005