A University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee researcher is a senior co-author of paper published in the journal Nature Genetics that identifies 17 rare human genetic variations associated with risk factors for diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.

Paul Auer, an assistant professor of biostatistics in the Joseph J. Zilber School of Public Health, worked with scientists from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, England, and other collaborators. In his work, Auer uses mathematics and computers to help understand the genetic basis of human disease.

The study, published Monday, Sept. 26, shows how large scale genomic datasets can be used to help identify potential novel biological targets for studying cardiovascular and other diseases, according to information from the Sanger Institute. Professor Nicole Soranzo of the Sanger Institute is joint senior author.

The paper is available at Nature Genetics.