Statistical geneticists are highly trained scientific investigators who are specialists in both statistics and genetics. Training in both statistics and genetics is necessary, as the nature of the work is highly interdisciplinary. Statistical geneticists must be able to understand molecular and clinical genetics, as well as mathematics and statistics, to effectively communicate with scientists from these disciplines.

Typical statistical geneticists spend much of their time working with computers, since much of the statistical analysis of data is now conducted using computer software instead of pencil and paper. Many statistical geneticists are actively engaged in developing new statistical methods for problems that are specific to genetics. Computers are invaluable tools, since much of the initial evaluation of new statistical methods is performed using computer simulations. That is, artificial data are generated using computer algorithms, and the statistical method is evaluated for its ability to identify the specific...