Michael Goddard is distinguished for his research into
quantitative genetics and the
genetic improvement of livestock, in particular by incorporation of
molecular genetic data. He co-proposed and developed 'genomic selection' in which dense
molecular markers are fitted to quantitative data by using
linkage disequilibrium with
QTL, thereby enabling more accurate selection decisions, including among animals without
phenotypic records. Within a decade, it is being used world wide in animal improvement programmes and has potential in
plant breeding and prediction of risk of
genetic disease in humans. Goddard has made other major contributions to understanding the genetic basis of quantitative
genetic variation, showing that common
SNPs can collectively account for much of the
heritability, and to inferences on population history.[3]
Goddard, M. E.; Hayes, B. J. (2009). "Mapping genes for complex traits in domestic animals and their use in breeding programmes". Nature Reviews Genetics. 10 (6): 381–391.
doi:
10.1038/nrg2575.
PMID19448663.
S2CID2111050.
Speliotes, E. K.; Willer, C. J.; Berndt, S. I.; Monda, K. L.; Thorleifsson, G; Jackson, A. U.; Lango Allen, H; Lindgren, C. M.; Luan, J; Mägi, R; Randall, J. C.; Vedantam, S; Winkler, T. W.; Qi, L; Workalemahu, T; Heid, I. M.; Steinthorsdottir, V; Stringham, H. M.; Weedon, M. N.; Wheeler, E; Wood, A. R.; Ferreira, T; Weyant, R. J.; Segrè, A. V.; Estrada, K; Liang, L; Nemesh, J; Park, J. H.; Gustafsson, S; et al. (2010).
"Association analyses of 249,796 individuals reveal 18 new loci associated with body mass index". Nature Genetics. 42 (11): 937–48.
doi:
10.1038/ng.686.
PMC3014648.
PMID20935630.