2017 Epigenetics GRS

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

This award will support the attendance of early career researchers at the Gordon Research Seminar on Epigenetics, which will be at Holderness School in Plymouth, New Hampshire on July 29-30, 2017. The format of the meeting is a combination of talks and posters, which will promote scientific exchange in both formal and informal settings. One session is devoted to the professional development and mentoring of early career scientists. There will be ample opportunity for sharing the latest research results and for networking. Epigenetics is a quickly expanding, evolving, and diverse discipline that underlies complexities of genetic plasticity, which is common to all forms of life from prokaryotes to humans. The origins of the field in the 1940s focused on the interactions between genes and environment. Today, the field has flourished and expanded to encompass an ever evolving and diverse set of molecular mechanisms, specific or shared between taxonomic ranks. The research presented at the conference reflects the diversity of topics on epigenetics mechanisms: the two broadly defined sessions are A) Epigenetics During Development and Reprograming and B) Epigenetics in Gene Regulation. The intellectual objective of the two-day meeting is to bring together leading young scientists such as graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the field of epigenetics to achieve three goals. 1) Develop a scientific program that will enhance our understanding of epigenetics by inviting young scientists at the forefront of the field to present their work. 2) Introduce attendees to unfamiliar areas of epigenetics research and provide an opportunity for cross-disciplinary thinking, and develop collaborations to build a diverse peer network both scientifically and geographically. 3) Provide young scientists with a welcoming environment and provide an opportunity to actively and openly discuss their research.