Vol: 34A Page: 141

Authors:
Michael G. Schimek
Marco Wiltgen

Title:
 Microarray gene expression analysis basics for biometricians

Language: English

Keywords:
Affymerix GeneChips technology
classification
clustering
empirical Bayes
gene expression data
microarray analysis
multiple testing
normalisation
Stanford technology
study design
visualisation tools

Summary:
In recent years a new bio-technology called microarrays has emerged. Microarrays are currently used in large experiments (in bioscienses and medicine) involving thousands of genes simultaneously. The obtained gene expression data are huge, have complicated errors structures, and additional features (e.g. far more variables, i.e. genes, than samples, a multiple comparison situation, etc) that make it almost impossible to applied standard statistical methods. In this introductory paper we consider selected statistical aspects of general interest, emphasizing study design, normalization, screening, and clustering. Example plots and numerous helpful references are provided.