Support is requested for a Keystone Symposia conference entitled Epigenetics and Human Disease, organized by Drs. Cheryl H. Arrowsmith, Anne Schaefer and Mark A. Dawson. The conference will be held in Banff, Alberta from March 17-21, 2019. Epigenetics is a major mechanism in human health and disease. Data from a range of diseases (cancer, neurological and immunological disorders) have uncovered altered epigenomes arising from mutations, altered expression and/or copy number alterations of numerous epigenetic factors (histones, DNA and chromatin modifying enzymes, reader proteins, chromatin modulators and noncoding RNAs). Genome-wide analyses have illustrated the relationship between altered epigenetic states (e.g., modified DNA, histones and chromatin packaging) and disease onset and progression. Furthermore, both local and long-range nuclear chromatin architecture are increasingly recognized as major contributors to normal and pathologic epigenetic states. This conference, held jointly with a conference on ?3D Genome?, will cover the most current knowledge of epigenetic events modulating nuclear function (gene expression regulation, enhancer modulation, domains and structural organization as well as cell division and differentiation), while relating this to normal and disease models. In addition, this conference will highlight the impact that preclinical and clinical epigenetic therapeutics have on multiple diseases including cancer, immunological and neurological disorders. An interdisciplinary panel of speakers including both thought leaders in the field as well as young investigators will survey the latest research results and conceptual understanding of fundamental mechanisms of epigenetic signaling, especially as they relate to regulation of gene expression programs. Presentations and workshops will highlight the latest technologies and methodologies for studying epigenetic states and 3D chromatin architecture in cells, tissues and organisms.
The dynamic plasticity of the epigenome coupled with the feasibility to develop highly selective drugs against various epigenetic writers, readers, erasers and remodelers offers an unparalleled opportunity to reset the aberrant epigenome that underpins the initiation and maintenance of many diseases including cancer. The challenge ahead is to rationally identify the best epigenetic proteins to target for therapeutic gain. This exciting program of speakers assembled for the joint Keystone Symposia conferences ?Epigenetics and Human Disease? and the ?3D Genome: Gene Regulation and Disease? will provide an up to date overview of cutting edge single cell technologies, imaging platforms, genome editing approaches and methods to assess chromatin conformation.
