Although the basic statistical theory behind modern genetics is not very difficult, most statistical genetics papers are not easy to read for beginners in the field, and formulae quickly become very tedious to fit a particular area of application.

Introduction to Statistical Methods in Modern Genetics distinguishes between the necessary and unnecessary complexity in a presentation designed for graduate-level statistics students. The author keeps derivations simple, but does so without losing the mathematical details. He also provides the required background in modern genetics for those looking forward to entering this arena. Along with some of the statistical tools important in genetics applications, students will learn:

How a gene is found

How scientists have separated the genetic and environmental aspects of a person's intelligence

How genetics are used in agriculture to improve crops and domestic animals

What a DNA fingerprint is and why there are controversies about it

Although the author assumes students have a foundation in basic statistics, an appendix provides the necessary background beyond the elementary, including multinomial distributions, inference on frequency tables, and discriminant analysis. With clear explanations, a multitude of figures, and exercise sets in each chapter, this text forms an outstanding entrée into the rapidly expanding world of genetic data analysis.