Thomas Famula, PhD
Department of Animal Science, University of California Davis

My research focus is on the statistical aspects of genetics and animal improvement. Most recently this has concentrated on the inheritance of disease in dogs, a topic that has focused on epilepsy in Belgian tervuren, deafness in Dalmatians and Addison's disease in Bearded collies.  Each of these areas begins as a purely statistical problem, asking the question: "Is this disorder inherited?" Having established inheritance there begins a search for the statistical evidence of the impact of single genes on this disease, an area of investigation called complex segregation analysis. The next phase of research is the collaborative effort to combine pedigree and disease information with DNA markers and maps of the canine genome. The intent is to discover those specific genes that influence the expression of disease.

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Selected Publications

Bellumori, TP, TR Famula, DL Bannasch, JM Belanger & AM Oberbauer 2013 Prevalence of inherited disorders among mixed-breed and purebred dogs: 27,254 cases (1995-2010).  J Am Vet Med Assoc 242:1549-1555.

Famula, TR, EJ Cargill, & GM Strain 2007 Heritability and complex segregation analysis of deafness in Jack Russell Terriers.  BMC Vet Res 3:31 (pdf)

Famula, TR 2012 Genetics of quantitative traits and improvement of dog breeds.  In The Genetics of the Dog, E Ostrander & A Ruvinsky, eds.

Famula, TR, AM Oberbauer, & CA Sousa 2000 Complex segregation analysis of deafness in Dalmatians.  Am J Vet Res 61:550-553. (pdf)

Famula, TR & AM Oberbauer 1998 Reducing the incidence of epileptic seizures in the Belgian Tervuren through selection.  Prev Vet Med 33:251-259.