ABSTRACT
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.