Jessica Dennis
Assistant Professor
Research Classification
Complex Trait Genetics
Genetics of Neurological and Psychiatric Diseases
Epidemiology
Mental Health and Psychopathology in Children and Youth
Bioinformatics
Research Interests
genetic epidemiology
statistical genetics
Precision Health
Electronic health records
Administrative health data
Machine Learning
Relevant Degree Programs
Affiliations to Research Centres, Institutes & Clusters
Research Options
I am interested in and conduct interdisciplinary research.
Recruitment
Master's students
Doctoral students
Postdoctoral Fellows
Any time / year round
The last decade has seen an unprecedented explosion of data. In medicine, data are increasingly being generated and linked across electronic health records, administrative databases, and biobanked samples. These resources hold tremendous promise for improving human health and achieving precision medicine, which will only be realized by thoughtful study designs and innovative analyses.
My lab uses novel computational methods grounded in genetic epidemiology and statistical genetics to capitalize on today’s big data resources. We aim to understand how genetic and epigenetic differences between people contribute to variation in disease susceptibility, response to treatment, and recovery. A primary goal of our research is to reduce the suffering associated with psychiatric disorders, many of which first manifest in childhood and adolescence. We conduct studies in large population datasets, with a major interest in electronic health records and biobanks, and we work at the intersection of genetics, epidemiology, statistics, bioinformatics, and computer science.
Complete these steps before you reach out to a faculty member!
Check requirements
- Familiarize yourself with program requirements. You want to learn as much as possible from the information available to you before you reach out to a faculty member. Be sure to visit the graduate degree program listing and program-specific websites.
- Check whether the program requires you to seek commitment from a supervisor prior to submitting an application. For some programs this is an essential step while others match successful applicants with faculty members within the first year of study. This is either indicated in the program profile under "Admission Information & Requirements" - "Prepare Application" - "Supervision" or on the program website.
Focus your search
- Identify specific faculty members who are conducting research in your specific area of interest.
- Establish that your research interests align with the faculty member’s research interests.
- Read up on the faculty members in the program and the research being conducted in the department.
- Familiarize yourself with their work, read their recent publications and past theses/dissertations that they supervised. Be certain that their research is indeed what you are hoping to study.
Make a good impression
- Compose an error-free and grammatically correct email addressed to your specifically targeted faculty member, and remember to use their correct titles.
- Do not send non-specific, mass emails to everyone in the department hoping for a match.
- Address the faculty members by name. Your contact should be genuine rather than generic.
- Include a brief outline of your academic background, why you are interested in working with the faculty member, and what experience you could bring to the department. The supervision enquiry form guides you with targeted questions. Ensure to craft compelling answers to these questions.
- Highlight your achievements and why you are a top student. Faculty members receive dozens of requests from prospective students and you may have less than 30 seconds to pique someone’s interest.
- Demonstrate that you are familiar with their research:
- Convey the specific ways you are a good fit for the program.
- Convey the specific ways the program/lab/faculty member is a good fit for the research you are interested in/already conducting.
- Be enthusiastic, but don’t overdo it.
Attend an information session
G+PS regularly provides virtual sessions that focus on admission requirements and procedures and tips how to improve your application.
Supervision Enquiry
If you have reviewed some of this faculty member's publications, understand their research interests and have reviewed the admission requirements, you may submit a contact request to this supervisor.
Publications
- Diagnostic Algorithms to Study Post-Concussion Syndrome Using Electronic Health Records: Validating a Method to Capture an Important Patient Population. (2019)
Journal of neurotrauma, - Genetic risk for major depressive disorder and loneliness in sex-specific associations with coronary artery disease (2019)
Molecular Psychiatry, - Penetrance and pleiotropy of polygenic risk scores for schizophrenia in 106,160 patients across four health care systems (2019)
American Journal of Psychiatry, 176 (10), 846-855 - Phenome-wide investigation of health outcomes associated with genetic predisposition to loneliness (2019)
Human Molecular Genetics, 28 (22), 3853-3865 - Penetrance and pleiotropy of polygenic risk scores for schizophrenia in 106,160 patients across four healthcare systems (2018)
- Phenome-wide Investigation of Health Outcomes Associated with Genetic Predisposition to Loneliness (2018)
- Beyond the market? New agrarianism and cooperative farmland access in North America (2017)
Journal of Rural Studies, 53, 303--316 - Blood triglyceride levels are associated with DNA methylation at the serine metabolism gene PHGDH. (2017)
Scientific reports, - Blood triglyceride levels are associated with DNA methylation at the serine metabolism gene PHGDH. (2017)
Scientific reports, - Genetic determinants of tissue factor pathway inhibitor plasma levels (2017)
Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 114 (08), 245--257 - Leveraging cell type specific regulatory regions to detect SNPs associated with tissue factor pathway inhibitor plasma levels. (2017)
Genetic epidemiology, - Leveraging cell type specific regulatory regions to detect SNPs associated with tissue factor pathway inhibitor plasma levels. (2017)
Genetic epidemiology, - Bicycling crashes on streetcar (tram) or train tracks: mixed methods to identify prevention measures. (2016)
BMC public health, - Bicycling crashes on streetcar (tram) or train tracks: mixed methods to identify prevention measures. (2016)
BMC public health, - Single nucleotide polymorphisms in an intergenic chromosome 2q region associated with tissue factor pathway inhibitor plasma levels and venous thromboembolism (2016)
Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 14 (10), 1960--1970 - Single nucleotide polymorphisms in an intergenic chromosome 2q region associated with tissue factor pathway inhibitor plasma levels and venous thromboembolism. (2016)
Journal of thrombosis and haemostasis : JTH, - Bicycling injury hospitalisation rates in Canadian jurisdictions: analyses examining associations with helmet legislation and mode share. (2015)
BMJ open, - Genome-wide investigation of DNA methylation marks associated with FV Leiden mutation. (2014)
PloS one, - RFC1 80G>A is a genetic determinant of methotrexate efficacy in rheumatoid arthritis: a human genome epidemiologic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. (2014)
Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.), - Thrombin generation potential and whole-blood DNA methylation. (2014)
Thrombosis research, - Challenges of population-based colorectal cancer screening and the importance of time-trend analysis when evaluating system change. (2013)
Cancer epidemiology, - Helmet legislation and admissions to hospital for cycling related head injuries in Canadian provinces and territories: interrupted time series analysis. (2013)
The BMJ, - The endothelial protein C receptor (PROCR) Ser219Gly variant and risk of common thrombotic disorders: a HuGE review and meta-analysis of evidence from observational studies. (2012)
Blood, - Bias in the case-only design applied to studies of gene-environment and gene-gene interaction: a systematic review and meta-analysis. (2011)
International journal of epidemiology, - Breast cancer risk in relation to alcohol consumption and BRCA gene mutations--a case-only study of gene-environment interaction. (2011)
The breast journal, - Alcohol consumption and the risk of breast cancer among BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers. (2010)
Breast (Edinburgh, Scotland), - The effects of provincial bicycle helmet legislation on helmet use and bicycle ridership in Canada. (2010)
Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention,
Prospective Student Info Sessions
Faculty of Medicine Information Session
Date: Tuesday, 08 December 2020Time: 11:00 to 12:00
UBC’s Faculty of Medicine is a global leader in both the science and the practice of medicine, and is home to more than 1,700 graduate students across over 20 graduate programs. In this session hosted by Dr Michael Hunt, Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, we’ll provide an overview of the diverse array of graduate programs available, including cutting-edge research experiences in the biosciences, globally recognized population health education, quality health professional training, as well as certificate and online training options. Dr Hunt will also be joined by program advisors from across the faculty to take an inside look at the application process and provide some application tips to help make your application as strong as possible.
Membership Status
Member of G+PS
View explanation of statuses
Location
BC Children's Hospital
Program Affiliations
Department(s)
If this is your researcher profile you can log in to the Faculty & Staff portal to update your details and provide recruitment preferences.
