Expanding the Utility of Whole Genome Sequencing in The
EXPANDING THE UTILITY OF WHOLE GENOME SEQUENCING IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF RARE GENETIC DISORDERS by Phillip Andrew Richmond B.A., The University of Colorado—Boulder, 2012 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Bioinformatics) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) October 2020 © Phillip Andrew Richmond, 2020 The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the dissertation entitled: Expanding the utility of whole genome sequencing in the diagnosis of rare genetic disorders submitted by Phillip Andrew Richmond in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics Examining Committee: Wyeth W. Wasserman, Professor, Medical Genetics, UBC Supervisor Dr. Inanc Birol, Professor, Medical Genetics, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Anna Lehman, Assistant Professor, Medical Genetics, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Dr. William Gibson, Professor, Medical Genetics, UBC University Examiner Dr. Paul Pavlidis, Professor, Psychiatry, UBC University Examiner Additional Supervisory Committee Members: Sara Mostafavi, Assistant Professor, Medical Genetics, UBC Supervisory Committee Member ii Abstract The emergence of whole genome sequencing (WGS) has revolutionized the diagnosis of rare genetic disorders, advancing the capacity to identify the “causal” gene responsible for disease phenotypes. In a single assay, many classes of genomic variants can be detected from small single nucleotide changes to large insertions, deletions and duplications. While WGS has enabled a significant increase in the diagnostic rate compared to previous assays, at least 50% of cases remain unsolved. The lack of a diagnosis is the result of both limitations in variant calling, and in variant interpretation.
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