The five-day workshop “Capacity building in studying genotype-phenotype relationships” (28 September – 2 October, Tartu, Estonia) brought together 17 participants from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Germany for an intensive program combining lectures with hands-on training in complex trait genetics, genomic data analysis, 3D imaging, and shape analysis.
The workshop was led by instructors from KU Leuven’s Department of Human Genetics: Prof Toomas Kivisild, Dr. Tristan Begg, Dr. Jay Davine, and Seppe Goovaerts. During the week, participants explored the genetic architecture of complex traits and the challenges of translating genetic findings across populations with different ancestries. The program covered the preparation of genomic data for ancestry analyses; univariate and multivariate approaches to complex traits; relationships between ancestry and phenotypic variation; pleiotropy; and methods for detecting signals of natural selection at both the individual-variant and trait-associated levels.
One of the workshop focuses was the integration of genomic and 3D phenotypic data. Participants were introduced to different approaches for acquiring 3D image data, including facial scanning and photogrammetry, and learned how to process the resulting images for downstream analyses. By combining theoretical lectures with extensive hands-on exercises, the workshop provided participants with practical experience of working across disciplines and data types, from genomic variation to 3D morphology. It also highlighted both the possibilities and current challenges of integrating genetic and phenotypic information to investigate complex traits, population history, and evolutionary processes.
