William Gauderman, PhD

Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences

Division Chief of Biostatistics

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Overview

Dr. Gauderman’s research falls into two distinct areas:

1) developing statistical methods for genetic-epidemiologic analysis of pedigree data; 2) design and analysis of studies relating health outcomes to environmental exposures. In the field of genetic-epidemiology, he has developed models and methods of estimation for complex traits that depend on both genetic and environment causes, possibly interacting. He has evaluated a technique known as joint segregation and linkage analysis and has found it to be an efficient strategy both for detecting linkage and for estimating gene-environment interactions when the disease gene has not yet been identified. He has also compared various case-control designs for studying measured genes (e.g. candidate genes). In the field of environmental health, he works with the Children’s Health Study, a multi-community study of lung function and respiratory health in school-aged children in the Southern California area. The ultimate goal of this research is to determine whether air pollution, or particular components of air pollution such as ozone, is associated with reduced lung growth and increased incidence of asthma, bronchitis, and other respiratory illnesses. He is also the principal investigator of the biostatistics core of the NIEHS Center, and thus is available for statistical consultation for projects involving environmental health.

Research Funding

  • An integrative omics approach to investigate gene-environment interaction in colorectal cancer risk
    NIH · R01CA273198 · Jun 1, 2023 – May 31, 2028 · Role: Co-Principal Investigator
  • Using functional genomics to inform gene environment interactions for colorectal cancer
    NIH · R01CA201407 · Sep 23, 2016 – Aug 31, 2021 · Role: Co-Principal Investigator
  • Statistical Methods for Integrative Genomics in Cancer
    NIH · P01CA196569 · Jul 1, 2016 – Aug 31, 2027 · Role: Co-Principal Investigator
  • Gene-Environment Analyses of Early Life Exposures and Asthma in Ethnically Diverse Children
    NIH · R21ES024844 · Dec 1, 2014 – Nov 30, 2017 · Role: Co-Principal Investigator
  • Air pollution effects on asthma and lung function in Hispanic children
    NIH · R03ES022719 · Jun 20, 2013 – May 31, 2016 · Role: Principal Investigator
  • Detecting GxE Interactions in Genome-wide Association Studies
    NIH · R21HL115606 · Mar 1, 2012 – Feb 29, 2016 · Role: Principal Investigator
  • Software to compute sample size for high-volume genetic studies
    NIH · R41CA141852 · Aug 1, 2009 – Jul 31, 2012 · Role: Principal Investigator
  • Remote Sensing of Wildfire Smoke Exposures to Assess Health Effects
    NIH · R21ES016986 · Sep 5, 2008 – Aug 31, 2011 · Role: Co-Principal Investigator
  • A Genome-wide Association Study of Childhood Respiratory Outcomes
    NIH · R01HL087680 · May 20, 2007 – Apr 30, 2011 · Role: Principal Investigator
  • Environmental Genomics
    NIH · T32ES013678 · Apr 30, 2005 – Jun 30, 2025 · Role: Principal Investigator
  • STATISTICAL APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF GXE INTERACTIONS
    NIH · R01ES010421 · May 1, 2000 – Apr 30, 2005 · Role: Principal Investigator
  • TRAINING MODULES FOR CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
    NIH · R43CA058240 · Sep 30, 1992 – May 31, 1993 · Role: Principal Investigator
  • PEDIGREE ANALYSIS USING GIBBS SAMPLING
    NIH · R43GM048326 · Sep 1, 1992 – Mar 31, 1993 · Role: Principal Investigator

Publications

  • Author Correction: Trans-ancestral genome-wide association study of longitudinal pubertal height growth and shared heritability with adult health outcomes. Genome Biol. 2024 May 21; 25(1):129.. View in PubMed
  • Genome-wide interaction study of dietary intake of fibre, fruits, and vegetables with risk of colorectal cancer. EBioMedicine. 2024 Jun; 104:105146.. View in PubMed
  • Does socioeconomic and environmental burden affect vulnerability to extreme air pollution and heat? A case-crossover study of mortality in California. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2025 Apr; 35(2):294-302.. View in PubMed
  • Fine-mapping analysis including over 254,000 East Asian and European descendants identifies 136 putative colorectal cancer susceptibility genes. Nat Commun. 2024 Apr 26; 15(1):3557.. View in PubMed
  • An approach to identify gene-environment interactions and reveal new biological insight in complex traits. Nat Commun. 2024 Apr 22; 15(1):3385.. View in PubMed
  • Genetic risk impacts the association of menopausal hormone therapy with colorectal cancer risk. Br J Cancer. 2024 06; 130(10):1687-1696.. View in PubMed
  • Genome-Wide Gene-Environment Interaction Analyses to Understand the Relationship between Red Meat and Processed Meat Intake and Colorectal Cancer Risk. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2024 03 01; 33(3):400-410.. View in PubMed
  • Perceived Stress From Childhood to Adulthood and Cardiometabolic End Points in Young Adulthood: An 18-Year Prospective Study. J Am Heart Assoc. 2024 02 06; 13(3):e030741.. View in PubMed
  • Trans-ancestral genome-wide association study of longitudinal pubertal height growth and shared heritability with adult health outcomes. Genome Biol. 2024 01 16; 25(1):22.. View in PubMed
  • Genome-Wide Interaction Analysis With DASH Diet Score Identified Novel Loci for Systolic Blood Pressure. Hypertension. 2024 Mar; 81(3):552-560.. View in PubMed